The Ties That Bind
by Jazzmatazz30
Summary: Through break-ups, make-ups and growing up, the next generation learn the true ties that bind. Follow the Weasley kids through their years at Hogwarts as they learn the importance of family.
1. I Want You

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not, nor will I ever own Harry Potter. Anything you recognize belongs to the one and only J.K. Rowling  
><strong>  
>"I want you.<br>When the sun comes out.  
>I wanna make you mine, I wanna make it count.<br>I want you.  
>I want you more than a friend.<br>Im gonna, gonna make you mine"

-Fefe Dobson

**Flashback**

_Victoire was sitting on the stairs of her Grandma Molly's home. Teddy had just learned he had been made Head Boy and the whole family was currently congratulating him. Everyone, except for Victoire of course. She wasn't really in a celebrating mood today because she had recently realized that she fancied Teddy, but she could tell that he didn't feel the same otherwise he would have said something like a year or two ago right? A fresh set of tears sprung to her eyes and before she could stop them she heard a set of footsteps up the stairs. She was going to turn and run to the loo, but then she realized it was only her Aunt Hermione._

_"Victoire, what's wrong?" she asked._

_"You wouldn't understand"_

_"Oh I wouldn't? So this doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you fancy Teddy then?"_

_"How did you-"_

_"You teenagers are under the impression that your parents were born adults. We were young once too, no matter long ago 'once' was". Victoire laughed at this, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. She was heart-broken._

_"I just don't know what to do. I know he fancies me back, but he doesn't see it. Or maybe I'm delusional; I mean, is there something wrong with me?" _

_"Oh Vic, you know there is nothing wrong with you. Boys can be really thick, and sometimes they have a problem realizing what they have in front of them. Your Aunt Ginny had a similar problem" Hermione mused._

_"Really?" She asked _

_"Absolutely. Now, I'm going to tell you exactly what I told her when we were in school. Back off a bit and give him a little more time to come to his senses before you give up on him. Date around a little, enjoy yourself. You're way too young to be sad over a guy."_

_"So you're saying that I should be less obvious, and date a bunch of other guys"_

_"Not in those exact words and maybe not 'a bunch' but yes, I think you understand the gist of it"_

_"And what happened? Did it work for Aunt Ginny?"_

_Hermione chuckled, "What if I told you the guy Aunt Ginny liked was your Uncle Harry?" At this, Victoire's eyes nearly popped out of her head. She jumped on Hermione and attacked her with kisses._

_"Oh thank you, thank you! You're brilliant"_

And that is why Victoire is currently snogging the Slytherin out of her boyfriend, Damarco Zabini. He was _just_ the distraction she needed right now. It was a week before the big Quidditch match against Slytherin for the House Cup and Teddy had told them to get focused but Victoire just couldn't. She had prefect duties, O.W.L.'s to study for, little cousins to keep up with, and of course maintaining the illusion of having it all together. Key word: illusion. As much as she enjoyed snogging, she knew she had to get to Quidditch practice soon. She pulled away and smiled at the sad look on Marc's face."Aw, Vic. What's wrong?" he asked, his lower lip jutting out.

_I'm in love with someone else_. "I've got to get to Quidditch practice," Technically she wasn't lying. "Teddy will hex me back to France if I'm late again, and if he finds out I'm late because of you he'll probably come after you the muggle way." Again, she wasn't lying.

"He wouldn't dare. Plus you guys can practice all you want, you won't beat us out for the cup." he said with that stupid confident smirk.

"If that's what you have to tell yourself to sleep at night then so be it, but I've got to go" She kissed him one last time and kind of skipped down to the pitch. Teddy would be pissed, but at this point she could really care less. _Serves him right_. He was Head Boy and top of his year at Hogwarts, but he couldn't figure out a simple crush from a tiny sixteen year old girl. Anyone with a pair of eyes could see they were meant to be together, except for Teddy of course. She could hear Teddy barking orders before she saw him, which was sign number one that he wasn't in the best mood at that moment. Her plan was to fly into the air quietly blending in with the rest of the team, and she was just about to intercept the quaffle from her best friend Alexi as if she'd been there the whole time until-

"Vicky! You're here!" she heard her cousin Molly squeal. You could count on Molly to ruin any suprise or secret. This is why their Uncle George had nicknamed her Molly Mouth. The whole team turned to look at her, and from the keepers goal she saw a head of hair turn from black to red. He began turning his hair red after the first and only time Aunt Ginny got angry with him. The Weasley temper really left a lasting impression.

"Nice of you to join us Vic." Teddy yelled.

"Sorry Ted, I got here as fast as I could" she replied breathlessly-and not from the running. Even when he was frighteningly mad at her, he was one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen. He was tall and muscular, but not overly built or bulky. When he wasn't morphing his appearance he had hazel eyes and soft features that made him look a lot like his mother. Amognst all of that her favorite part of him was his thick, black hair that he had recently cut short. It made him appear older, and Victoire loved it. From the day she met him he'd been changing his hair color to express his moods or associate with certain feelings. Sometimes he didn't even know he was doing it, but over the years Vic had paid attention to them and she could almost always tell what he was feeling or thinking. When his hair turned blonde it usually meant he was hiding something or lying, and brown generally meant he was bored or tired. The worst ones were red, which meant he was angry or a pink streak in the front that meant he was sad or depressed. Her absolute favorite was his natural black, which meant that he was just being himself. She was in the middle of ogling him when she realized he had been speaking to her.

"Get your head out of the clouds Vic. I swear you girls are going to kill me." he said. She put on her sweetest smile and flew to join her fellow chasers. Teddy's hair was still red from being angry, but seeing that smile softened him a bit. After a long practice, Victoire walked back to Gryffindor Tower with her best friend Alexie Thomas, who was chewing on her nails and clearly dying to tell Vic something."Out with it, Thomas" she said suddenly, startling Lexie.

"You're only going to get upset" she said, but Victoire decided it would be best if she got it out now. She stood with her hand on her hips, giving Lexie a look that Fleur herself would be proud of. "Ok! Geez Vic, you're getting more like your mum every day. It's just...why on earth are you dating Damarco Zabini? He's a cocky Slytherin who's had more girlfriends than even Casanova could count, not to mention the fact that you are TOTALLY in love with Teddy Lupin"

"Listen Lex, Damarco isn't that bad. You know, he's nothing like his father's friends used to be. Surprisingly he's really sweet and seems to care about me, plus dating him actually is part of the plan to get Teddy; so just bear with me" Victoire replied.

"The plan? You're dating Zabini to make Teddy jealous? And who gave you this brilliant idea?" Lexie asked

"My Aunt Hermione, last summer." And Lexie couldn't argue with that. Everyone knew Hermione Granger was one of the smartest witches to ever grace the wizarding world. Victoire began telling Lexie about her conversation with Hermione, thinking back to the summer before her 5th year started for the second time today.

"Well then I guess we'll just have to wait and see if it works. Don't you feel bad using Marc though? From the way you talk about him it sounds like he really likes you."

"Hey, I'm not using Marc. I actually do quite like him, I just don't love him. And, yes we'll just have to wait and see ". Victoire had to admit that Hermione's advice was working in a way. She couldn't tell if Teddy was noticing her in the way she now wanted, but she didn't have to think of Teddy all the time because she had occupied herself with...well with having a life. Once she realized Teddy Lupin was not the only wizard around, she learned that there were quite a few guys that had fancied her for some time. When she finally reached the common room, she saw Teddy sitting with Roxy and Molly in what had been named "The Weasley Section". The four of them, Teddy included, sat in the one corner of the common room all the time. It wasn't like other people weren't allowed to sit there, but people were a bit intimidated by them. They were the only family that big in Hogwarts, even though this wasn't even half of them. And of course people knew them due to their parents being 'war heroes'. Victoire oftened wondered what all the fans would think if they saw these 'heroes' trying to control 12 Weasley kids.

Victoire loves her family, but she really wanted to be alone right now. This could only happen if no one noticed her, because for some reason she just couldn't say no to family. She put on her best "I don't want to be bothered" face and walked towards the girls dormitories. She was almost out of sight until she heard Molly."Vic! Over here!" she called. Merlin, she was going to have to talk to Molly about doing that. She walked over to their corner and plopped down on the sofa in her usual spot next to Roxy. Teddy sat in the big armchair nearest to the fireplace and Molly was usually sprawled out of the floor doing whatever it was that caught her interest that week. "Did you know the whole family is coming to the match against Slytherin next week?" Molly asked.

Teddy sighed, "No we didn't, but I think that was intended to be a surprise Mo."

_Then they shouldn't have told Molly._

"Then they shouldn't have told Molly," Roxy said aloud. She almost always seemed to say what Vic was thinking. Victoire giggled at this and lay down in Roxy's lap. She might only be a second year, but she was wise beyond her years. The funny thing was, she and Molly were the same age-only a month apart- so Roxy had to wait a year before she could start at Hogwarts. Of course Molly liked to think she was so much older and more mature, but Roxy was actually the more mature one.

"Oh shut up Rox", Molly yelled as she threw a pillow at her. "And I hate being called Mo" she said to Teddy.

"I don't care." he said as he flicked her in the back of the head.

"Now we absolutely _have_ to win this game! Uncle Ron will disown us if we don't"

"Molly, Ron can't disown you, he's not your father." Victoire reasoned. Molly was so dramatic; you would think she'd be tamer considering who her parents are. Victoire was about to drift to sleep when she saw a shy first year boy walking towards them with an envelope. _What now?_

"Um Victoire, I'm….uh supposed to give you this. Here." Victoire smiled at him and took the note. He nearly fainted, and she and her cousins rolled their eyes; it wasn't like she was going to bite him. She opened the note that smelled faintly of Marc.

_Meet me in "our spot". I've missed you._

_-Damarco_

"Who's Damarco?" Molly asked.

"None of your business, Molls" she responded. Victoire noticed that Teddy was suddenly very interested in what was going on.

"Zabini?" Teddy asked, "You can't tell me you're seriously dating that arse."

"I already told you I was, and what does it matter to you anyway?"

"I thought you were kidding, or that it would be a one-time thing!" he yelled. She was going to get angry if he didn't lower his voice."I didn't honestly believe he'd want to date you!"

"Because someone wanting to date me is so unbelievable!"

"Vic, he's two years older than you. There's no way he _just _wants to date. Is that why you were late to practice today, getting in a quick snog?"

"Oh stop it Teddy! I was 5 minutes late. And it's none of your business what we were doing." He laughed a really annoying sarcastic laugh

"So he was the reason you were late! Merlin Vic, sometimes you don't think! I forbid you from seeing him, I will not have people thinking of you as a slag!" he spat. She could hear the faint gasps from Molly and Roxanne in the background. Victoire had never seen him so angry, but she was angrier.

"Forbid me? You forbid me? You have no right to be telling me who I am allowed to be with Teddy Remus Lupin! And I could care less what the morons in this school think of me!"

"Well maybe you should, I won't be here to protect you much longer. Plus, you don't hear the things people say. It drives me crazy!"

" Whatever. You never paid me any mind before, so don't start now! I'm not a little girl and I can take care of myself. Just leave me alone." Victoire ran up to her room and for once even Molly didn't dare speak. She cried herself to sleep that night thinking of Quidditch and Teddy and Marc and O.W.L.'s and Teddy and Teddy and Teddy…

She was hopeless

**A/N: So this is my first time publishing and I'm really excited about it. Also, I would love love love feedback! Good or bad, I can take it! Oh, and I know some of the ages are mixed up, but it's the way I picture the Weasley kids. Just to clear things up here are the ages of the kids at this time of the story:**

**Teddy- 18  
>Victoire- 16<br>Molly,Roxanne-13  
>James, Dominique- 11<br>Fred-10  
>Rose, Albus-9<br>Louis-8  
>Lily, Hugo, Lucy-7<strong>


	2. Walk Away

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own Harry Potter. Anything you recognize belongs to the one and only J.K. Rowling  
><strong>  
>"I never dreamed her footsteps could ever sound so lonely<br>As they did when she left today  
>I raised my hand and brushed your tear as I helplessly stood there<br>Just watching my world walk away"

-Jack Greene

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_Lately there had been something very different about Victoire. When they were younger they could play and have a good time without a care, and during her 3rd year and his 5th, he remembered her being really shy and jumpy around him. Last year she had avoided him like the plague, but they were now walking from practice together and she hadn't blushed, tripped or stuttered once. One part of him was glad that she could be herself with him again, but another part of him was upset because he kind of thought she had a crush on him and it was kind of sweet. In a platonic way._

_Thinking about how they'd grown up together like that had gotten really hard for him lately This was his last year at Hogwarts, next year he'd be Merlin knoes where, and all he wanted to do was make sure she was happy and safe before he left. Honestly, she did look happy. Speaking of looks, Victoire had certainly grown over the summer. She was never merely a pretty girl, but now she was a woman; and they might be nearly family, but he was still a boy and he could appreciate her looks. He looked down at his long time friend who was currently talking to him about something or the other. He was immediately drawn to her eyes, which were so blue that he could cry. They were really lit up from whatever she was talking about and even though he hadn't heard a word of what she'd been saying he could feel her excitement. _

"_Ted! Earth to Teddy, did you hear me?" Victoire asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. She was waving her hand in front of his face and he could smell her Jasmine scented perfume._

"_Sorry Vic, must have been daydreaming." He said lamely. She laughed at his sudden bashfulness and the sound of her laugh sounded like music. Had she always laughed like that? If so, how had he never noticed?_

_"It's great to know you can tune me out so easily; you probably haven't listened to a word I've said all our lives." she joked_

_"Not my fault you're so boring." This was obviously a lie. She couldn't be boring if she tried. She shoved him playfully and he could have sworn the spot her hand touched was burning. Was that her perfume?_

"_Well I was just saying that Damarco Zabini asked me to go to Hogsmead with him this week, and I was wondering if you could shorten practice just this one time so Molly and I could have time to get ready. Please, Ted?" she asked._

_Poor Teddy wasn't sure what his reaction should have been. For one, he didn't like the sound of Molly dating. She was only 13; he'd have to discuss that with her later. But Victoire was going on a date with Damarco Zabini. Why did that make him want to vomit? It had to be because Vic was like a cousin to him. Right?_

_"Vic, I don't know-" he started, but her eyes immediately turned sad. He was already failing at keeping her happy._

_"Oh please, please, please, please? I'll never be late for practice again and I'll even take over some of your patrolling duties! It's just that I've never been on a date before and he's asked and I said yes before you scheduled practice for that day. Please!" It was painfully obvious how much she wanted to go on this date. She was now jumping up and down resembling a child begging their parent for a toy in a store. It was really cute._

"_Um sure, I guess so." he answered, trying to shove off the unfamiliar feelings in his stomach. _

"_Teddy you're the best!" she said, hugging him tightly "I'm gonna go tell Mo" Then Victoire walked away, and call him crazy, but Teddy thought she took a piece of him with her. He'd seen her walk away plenty of times before but this time it felt like it meant so much more; like she may not come back, or at least not to him. There was some really weird symbolic, Divination-like thing going on here and it seemed like his heart was pounding in his chest. He wanted to go after her but had no idea way. Maybe he was in fact losing his mind. Teddy didn't understand where all these feelings had come from, but he could definitelytell things were changing. _

* * *

><p>It had been three days since he blew up at Vic, and she hadn't so much as looked at his sorry ass. He felt terrible about everything he had said, but knew there wasn't much he could do. You never mess with a Weasley girl when she was upset; he'd learned that from Ginny. It wasn't that she would be mad, but even worse he knew that she'd be hurt and disappointed. Everytime he replayed the fight in his head he felt worse and worse. Had he actually attempted to forbid her from dating another guy? That was ridiculous. And he was pretty sure he had basically called her a slag-in-training and said she was stupid. There was no way in hell she was going to ever forgive him. He was lying in bed, brooding when he heard soft footsteps coming up the stairs.<p>

"Go away", he called to the ceiling, not really caring who was at the door.

"_Go away._ And they call me the drama queen." Molly said sarcastically. She came in anyway, opened his curtains, and plopped down on his bed looking at him with those big, nosy, intrusive eyes.

"Seriously Molly, what if I was naked or something? You just can't barge into a guy's room like that." He ranted. She had to be the most annoying out of his younger...well cousins, for lack of a better word.

"Oh, shut up. There's a picture of you and Vic bathing together on Gran Molly's fireplace; not to mention the fact that our family is full of boys. And if you must know, I've seen it all before. On a dare." She replied.

_TMI, as the muggles would say. _"For the love of Merlin, Mouth what do you want?"

"I want you to get your thick head out of your pathetic little arse and fix things with Vic. And I don't just mean the fight, I mean everything!" she yelled before smacking him hard on the chest. Had she lost her mind?

"I'm too ashamed to face her. Do you realize I made her mad? Like full-on, red in the face mad. I didn't even know that was possible."

"Well you did it, and now you have to face it and fix it. And fix everything!"

"Stop saying that! I don't even know what 'everything' is, you're not making any sense."

Molly sighed, "Wow. So you _are_ dumber than everyone thinks. Victoire's in love with you , you prat. She has been for years and only came to terms with it last summer. Everyone on this entire planet can see that except for you. The whole family's been waiting for you to pull it together and our grandmothers practically spell it out for you any time the two of you look at each other."

Teddy was not sure if he had heard the little brat correctly. Victoire was in love with him? With him? That's impossible. She would have said something by now, right? "She can't be. I'm just Teddy."

"Well you're not just Teddy to her. " Molly said picking at her school robes.

"If Victoire is in love with me, why is she dating that idiot Damarco Zabini?"

"Well you can't expect her to have waited around for you forever; even you aren't that irresistable." he was going to ignore that last part. "She had to get on with her life, considering the alternative is pining over you for the rest of her life." He really had nothing to say back to her considering the state of disbelief he was currently in. He sat with his mouth hanging open for a good 3 minutes before Molly left, clearly bored of the conversation.

Teddy was so shocked he could not properly process this information. She loved him? She loved him. The most beautiful girl in the world was in love with a dumb arse like him. And then it clicked, he loved her too. That's why he'd been having all those unexplainable feelings lately; he wasn't crazy, he was in love! He loved everything about her. The way she nagged him about his appearance, her eyes, her smile, her kindness towards everyone, her love for Quidditch, and so much more. He rushed to his trunk and pulled out parchment and a quill to write a letter to Harry.

_Dear Harry,_

_I love Victoire. _

_Did the entire family really know? Isn't there some kind of 'godfatherly' talk you could have had with me about this? Did you all place a bet on when I'd figure it out? Well congrats to whoever guessed my 7__th__ year; Molly couldn't keep her mouth shut (shocking, no?) But, I've got to go. See you at the game this weekend. Oh yeah, Molly let that one out of the bag too. Is there something we can do about her?_

_Love,_

_Teddy_

He attached the letter to his owl and immediately started getting ready for the day. He was in the Great Hall having lunch when he saw his owl coming towards him. He recognized Harry's handwriting immediately.

_Dear Teddy,_

_It's about time son. I would've told you sooner but where would the fun have been in that? As for the bet, Audrey and Ginny are the winners. Ginny for guessing 7__th__ year and Audrey for guessing that Molly would spill the beans. Mothers know best I suppose. We're all so happy for you! And as for this Zabini kid, give Vic some time. Everything that is meant to be will be, in time. Keep up the good work, and we'll see you at the game. And as for Molly Mouth, let her know silence is golden. If that doesn't work, Hermoine knows a pretty powerful silencing charm._

_Much Love,_

_Harry_

Teddy wondered how Harry knew about Vic and Zabini, but he was sure 1/3 of the Golden Trio could retrieve almost any information he wanted. He didn't think anything could change his spirits. Was it just him, or was everything in life better? The common room was brighter, the corridors were cleaner, and…and…and Vic was snogging Damarco Zabini. Right there in front of the Head's dorms. If there was anything that could crush a bloke's mood, that was it. Before he could turn around and leave, Zabini caught his eye.

"Spying now, are we Lupin?" he jeered before kissing Victoire again. Teddy felt it best not to mention they were right in front of his room.

"Teddy?" Victoire squealed half- embarrassed and half-surprised. Her cheeks were flushed and she was wearing a guilty expression.

"Uh, Vic could I talk to you alone please?" he asked. He was 98 percent sure she'd say no, which is why he jumped a little when she started walking towards him.

"Tori?" Zabini asked. Teddy cringed at the sound of Damarco using the childhood nickname he had given her. Had she told him to call her that? He could feel his hair turning, but wasn't going to let Zabini know he got to him.

"It's okay Marc, just give us a minute please?" With that Zabini walked away, but not without glaring daggers at Teddy. _Right back at you mate._ Vic waited for him to get a good ways away before rounding on Ted. "Well? You wanted to talk?" she asked, she wasn't even mad. Just as he expected the only emotion her eyes held was sadness, which hurt Teddy even more.

"Vic, I'm ridiculously sorry for all of those things I said, I don't even know what came over me. You just got me so angry that night and I guess I lost control. Believee me when I tell you that I've been absolutely _miserable_ these past few days, because you haven't been talking to me. So miserable that Molly is the only human I've interacted with in 72 hours. I don't think I can apologize enough, but could you please forgive me?" he asked with as much confidence as he could muster.

She sighed, and looked him in the eye for the first time in days, "I forgive you. You knew I would, I can't stay mad at you. "

"Oh god, Vic thanks. I screwed up and I would have understood if you never wanted to speak to me again." She kissed him on the cheek and laughed off his last comment.

"I can never stay mad, especially not at you" she looked down as if she had said something she shouldn't have. He let out an internal sigh; they were good. Everything was going to be good, except for the fact that she had a boyfriend. That might be a problem.

"So, you and Zabini huh?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

She rolled her eyes and punched him lightly. "His name is Damarco, and yes me and him. You gonna be okay with that?" This was the part in one of those muggle movies where the guy would say he loved the girl and they would have a "moment". He stared into her eyes and was about to tell her how he felt, but this wasn't a muggle movie, and although it pained him, Teddy knew what he had to do.

"Well are you happy?" he asked. She didn't even hesitate before nodding and smiling. _Great._

"If he makes you happy, then I'm okay with it." And it was true. Keeping her happy would be his number one priority from now on. She was looking down again with an expression that he thought was disappointment. It was like she had been hoping he would say something else; but that couldn't have been right. "As long as he doesn't get too touchy feely, then I'll have to hex his balls off"

Victoire laughed and hugged him then, and he thought his heart would burst. "Thanks Ted. This means a lot to me. See you at practice, I promise I'll be on time." He gave her a wave and for what seemed like the hundreth time, he watched her walk away. Teddy didn't think he would ever get used to her walking away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Poor Teddy, being all chivalrous and what not. When will boys learn it's better to just say what you feel? lol Anyways, don't forget to review. Why? Because it makes me happy of course! Next chapter: Roxanne!  
>-Jazz<strong>


	3. Born This Way

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own Harry Potter. Anything you recognize belongs to the one and only J.K. Rowling**

"I'm beautiful in my way  
>'Cause God makes no mistakes<br>I'm on the right track baby  
>I was born this way"<p>

-Lady Gaga

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_It had only been a week, but Hogwarts was already turning out to be Roxanne's least favorite place. She had her cousins and Teddy with her, but she still felt alone. The main problem was that people were just downright nasty to her. Apparently being different is not acceptable at Hogwarts, and all it took was one person to say something about you and then everybody else would join in as well. People would stare at her and say mean things when they walked by; all because one ignorant person had made a comment about her race. Normally she could care less about people talking about her, but it was different when you're the only person getting picked on for one particular reason. The school was full of people from different backgrounds; there were Europeans, Asians, Africans, Australians, and even Americans- not to mention the diversity that the muggleborn students added- making Hogwarts resemble some big magical melting pot. You would think everyone would be accepted here, but Roxy wasn't. The fact that she was mixed just boggled the minds of the general student body and she became a target for just about everyone. This only being her fist week, she wasn't sure how she'd make it for seven years with these people; but she didn't want to say anything to her parents because she didn't want her mum to think she was ashamed of her background. Her family had never even brought up the subject of her, Fred, or her mother's ethnicity, so she hadn't thought it a big deal before now, but clearly it was very disturbing to some of the students only thing Roxy was looking forward to this year was Quidditch. Tryouts were going to be in less than 20 minutes and even though she probably wouldn't make the team, she would love being in the air again. There was something about the feeling of flying around with everybody depending on you that she couldn't get enough of. Roxy was pulled out of her thoughts as she bumped into someone and her books went flying._

"_Watch where you're going little girl" someone sneered at her as if it was her fault that he'd crashed into her. It was really too late for this, but she was already in a sour mood so she completely ignored the high road. _

"_Little? And just who do you think you are?" she responded. His face changed from kind of scary to shock; people must not talk back to him often. Honestly, she had no idea where that'd come from. She may be feisty, but she knew her limits; and this kid was a little too big to be getting sassy with._

"_Grayson Goyle. Slytherin. And you are?"_

"_I'm Roxanne Weasley. Gryffindor? Is that how people introduce themselves here?" she asked. Interesting, Teddy hadn't told her that. Frankly she'd had enough of the small talk and she tried to get by, but the boy blocked her way with his huge stomach._

"_A Weasley, eh? How interesting, are you adopted?" he asked with an eyebrow raised. Ugh, she didn't have time for this. Why was it that Vic could be blonde and Molly could kind of look Hispanic, but Roxy couldn't be mixed and be considered a Weasley? None of the Weasleys in school now even had the infamous red hair so it made no sense. But then again, prejudices don't ever make sense._

"_Are you stupid? I'm not adopted; my mum is black and my dad is white, I'm mixed."_

_"You're mixed?"_

_"Yes, mixed; although that's really none of your business". This idiot was really starting to upset her; mean she could handle, but mean and stupid was just going to be pushing it. _

"_Such a big vocabulary for such an ickle firstie." he said with a small laugh._

_"If you know what's good for you you'll leave me alone." she said through clenched teeth._

_"And what are you going to do, talk me to death? Doesn't sound that threatening." he started laughing as he walked around her in a circle. "You're quite pretty for a hybrid, or at least you have the potential to be if you squint your eyes. So Roxy, the mixed Weasley, can you do any tricks?" he joked before doubling over in laughter. And that was her limit; she may not look like a Weasley girl but she certainly inherited the temper. Roxy was just about to reach for her wand and hex the prejudice out of him, but much to her disliking her cousins came around the corner. _Perfect.

"_Back off, Goyle!" she heard Teddy yell. When he reached Roxy he pushed her behind him and Vic started fussing over her, blocking her view from the confrontation._

"_Well well well," Grayson drawled "If it isn't the famous Weasley brats to Roxanne's rescue." She lunged for the boy but Vic, who was surprisingly strong, held her back._

"_If you so much as look at her again I'll make sure you can't speak another insult as long as your pathetic arse lives" Teddy's hair was turning a red that Roxy had never seen before. He truly looked frightening, and that was probably why Goyle walked away so fast._

"_Rox, don't listen to him. You're perfect the way you are and we love you" Victoire said _

_"Yeah yeah yeah. Your timing was shitty, I was just about to do some serious damage to that hippopotamus." she said confidently._

_"Watch your mouth." Teddy warned, "And what exactly did you think you were going to do to him anyway?"_

_"Well it doesn't matter now, you buffoons scared him away."_

_"I think you really underestimate how small you are." Molly said._

_"I think you overestimate how old you are. You are exactly 50 days older than I am and maybe an inch taller; get over yourself."_

_"Enough!" Vic interjected, "Merlin, you two will fight about anything. Now come on, let's get to those Quidditch trials"_

_"And just forget about Goyle, he's not worth getting angry over." Teddy added. Fine, she would let it go; for now. But Rose has told her about this thing called karma, and she wanted to personally deliver his to him someday. _

* * *

><p>When Teddy picked her to be the Gryffindor Seeker last year, her initial reaction was to punch him in the mouth for making such a terrible joke. She hadn't even tried out for Seeker, because she wanted to be Chaser with Victoire and Molly. Teddy had insisted that her speed would make for a fair seeker, and said that if she asked him about it one more time he'd take her off the team altogether. It worked out for her though, because Alexie Thomas was clearly a better chaser than she, so at least this way she got on the team. Roxy had to toot her own horn; she WAS good. There was no doubt that she would be giving up the spot once little Albus or Lily came along, but for now it was safe to say she was one of the best. Her Uncle Harry even said she was better than him at that age, which is pretty cool coming from the 'Savior of the Wizarding World'.<p>

Roxanne snapped out of her daze when she heard Teddy's 'angry voice'. She sighed and took a lap around the pitch to wake up. The big game was tomorrow and Teddy was a bit on edge these days. "Get your head in the game!" Teddy yelled. She snorted. When he used that phrase it reminded her of that muggle movie about the kids singing in their high school that her cousin Lucy loved. Musical High? Singing School Musical? Whatever."Roxanne!" _Roxanne? Oh, he's pissed. _Everybody knew Roxanne day dreamed while looking for the snitch-it was her thing-, so he really shouldn't get his knickers in a twist every practice. Oh crap, she was dazing again. She turned her attention back to the pitch to see what was going on.

Vic, Molly, and Alexie were in the middle of an intricate and fun-looking play with the quaffle, while Teddy was dodging bludgers, stopping goals, and instructing the team all at the same time. The beaters, Alaric Wood and Chase Finnegan were...um, well Roxy didn't quite know what they were doing. Maybe seeing how many teammates they could take out by the end of practice.

She was bored, so she decided to do what she did best. Teddy said she had to catch the Snitch 10 times to end practice, which is 8 more times than she usually had to. It was really stupid; you only have to catch it once in a game so why practice catching it a billion times in practice? She closed her eyes and listened for her favorite sound. She completely shut down her other senses and listened to the sounds on the pitch; nothing else mattered when she was in seeker mode. She heard the hollow sound of a quaffle being passed and Teddy blocking the goal. There was also the swoosh of beaters bats, and then she heard the sound she was looking for. She kept her eyes closed and raced toward the sound of fluttering wings. She stretched her arm out, but another sound filled her ears; it was heavy and slow, like a bludgers. She quickly made a 180 flip to avoid a collision and pushed the speed of her broom even farther. Then she found her sound again. The Snitch. She dived for it going completely upside down and had the snitch in her hands in no time, before turning at the last moment in order to avoid hitting the ground. _And that makes 10._

That was one of the most amazing catches she'd ever made; and yes, she did it with her eyes closed. Everyone knew Roxy wasn't a reckless person, but Quidditch made her a little opened her eyes and smiled and the small gold ball in her hands. _Well that was fun. _"Roxanne! Get down here now!" _Ugh_, _Kill Joy_. She flew down to meet the team as slowly as she could without pissing Teddy off further, but showing him that she could come down whenever the heck she wanted. Once her feet reluctantly touched the ground, she walked towards him ready to face the monster. "What the hell was that?"

"It was a really spectacular catch that deserves a little praise; you're like the least encouraging captain ever." His nostrils flared at her response and his nose flared making him look like a dragon.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to go for the snitch with your eyes closed?"

"You don't have to tell me at all if you really don't feel like it. I was just having a little fun, Ted." Seriously, what was the big deal?

"A little fun? You almost got hit with a bludger right before nearly plummeting into the ground. Do you think it'll be a little fun when Uncle George is giving me an Unforgivable for not watching out for you?"

"Blah, blah, blah. I _almost_ hit something before _nearly_ plummeting somewhere. Neither actually happened, so I'm fine. And have you actually met my father? He couldn't hurt a fly." Roxy would have gone on but Teddy's hair was turning that shade of red that she was fiercely afraid of.

"Teddy" Victoire interjected before they could argue further. She placed a hand on his shoulder and his hair turned from his angry red to a bright blue almost instantly before going to his usual black. _That's new_. Had she missed something?

"Listen Rox, you're an amazing seeker. There's no need to get crazy to prove yourself to anyone." Teddy kissed her on the cheek and turned to the rest of the team, "Alright guys, this was a good practice. Rest up! See you tomorrow bright and early!"

The team went to the changing rooms and Roxy noticed that Victoire ran as if she was late for something. Again, weird. She slowly made her way to the locker rooms and couldn't help but think of how wrong Teddy was. She did have something to prove. She had to prove to everyone that her skin color and race didn't make her different. People teased her endlessly saying she needed to "pick a side". To be honest she didn't look that different, which Vic and Uncle Charlie had pointed out many times. She had caramel colored skin, but you could still see the Weasley freckles sprinkled faintly on her cheeks. Her hair was wavy and thick, but her dark brown color had a deep red tint to it like her Aunt Ginny's.

She knew what some people thought of her, and was hoping this game could turn things around. There was nothing they could say if she won Gryffindor the House Cup, with her eyes closed. Her whole family would be there watching her, and she didn't want to let her mum or dad down. She was proud to be their daughter, and wanted all the people that teased her to know she was changed she made her way to Gryffindor Tower. When she got to the portrait of the Fat Lady she saw Chase Finnegan standing against the wall with a nervous look on his face.

"You know, you can go in if you want, this being your House and all" she teased. "Waiting for someone?" He let out a strained laugh and blushed deeply. Roxy had to look behind her to check that no one else was there. Was he blushing because of her?

"Um yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk with me?" he managed to say. He was probably the shyest human being she had ever met, but he was really cute too which is why most girls ignored the shyness and just called him 'mysterious'. He really wasn't mysterious, he was more like socially awkward but girls his age are stupid.

"I don't know. Teddy will kill us both if we don't get at least 8 hours of sleep." She said.

"I promise it'll be quick, Rox." he begged.

"Well ok then." They began walking down the corridor and Roxy started getting nervous. What did a fourth year want with her? Was he going to ask her out? I mean, she was flattered but she had only just turned 13. Teddy will murder him! "So Chase, did you bring me here so we could listen to each other breathe, or were you going to ask me something?"

"Right. Well, see the thing is I kind of have this crush-" _OMG. _"On Molly." _oh_. "And I was wondering if you could probably talk to her for me and see where her head is at." _Kill me now._

"Sorry, but I can't help you there." Roxanne said cutting him off.

"What? Why?"

"It's simple really. Firstly she and I aren't close enough for that to work and Molly isn't going to take too kindly to a guy that asked her little cousin to ask her out for him. She'd want a brave bloke that would do it in front of her groupie 3rd year friends and make a scene about it" she said as he gave her a scared look. He better toughen up a little; any guy who fancied Molly had to know she was one for dramatics.

"Well alright then, and what do you think Teddy would say?" _Ha! You're on your own there buddy! _"Come again?" he asked. Whoops, did she say that out loud?

"I don't know Finnegan, what do you think Teddy would say? Don't be a coward! Molly definitely wouldn't fancy a guy that is afraid of Teddy."

"I'm not afraid of Teddy," he said unsurely. _Well you should be. _"What?" She really needed to work on keeping her thoughts to herself.

"This has been a good time but I should really be getting back, you don't have to walk with me."

"Alright well, thanks." he said, heading off to wherever he was going. After that brief encounter she was glad he hadn't asked her out. She felt a bit bad for him though, because if all went well he'd be forced to put up with Princess Molly for at least a few months. Not to mention the fact that Teddy had become way too overprotective ever since he realized that almost every boy in the school fancied Vic and Molly. That wasn't her problem though. She wasn't even close to the tower and was close to breaking curfew. If her cousin/head boy/Quidditch captain caught her, she'd be dead. She was about to break into a sprint when she heard something coming from an empty room. Her Marauder genes kicked in and she silently crept to the door. She peeked in and was surprised by what she saw. Damarco Zabini had set up a date for himself and Vic. The room looked like one of those posh, French restaurants that Victoire's mum Fleur would rave on and on about. Victoire looked even more beautiful than usual if you could believe that. She decided to go a bit closer so she could hear what they were saying.

"Tori" Demarco spoke. _Who is Tori?_ "You are the most amazing witch I have ever laid eyes on. I can't believe that you chose to be with me when you could have any guy in the world." _Welcome to the club._ "You've made my last year one of the happiest. I love you Victoire." Roxy gasped so loud that she thought she'd be caught, but they didn't hear it because Victoire had dropped her glass. Was she going to say it back? Oh, this is good. But she didn't say it back; in fact she didn't say anything at all. Instead, she kissed him so deeply that Roxy could have hexed herself for watching.

In a way, it looked unnatural. As if Vic was forcing herself to feel things she never could; but what did Roxanne know, she was only 13. Things were heating up even more, and she was getting extremely uncomfortable. Zabini was showering Vic with "I love you's" and kisses.

And that's when she said it.

Roxy ran as fast as she could all the way back to the common room. She really did not want to see what was going to happen next.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Dun dun dunnnnnnn! ****What ever did little Roxy hear to make her run like that? You'll just have to wait and see! Reviews are appreciated as always :-)  
>-Jazz<strong>


	4. Happy

**Disclaimer: You know I don't own Harry Potter, that was a silly thing to think. It was all J.K Rowling.**

"Should be happy to be loved  
>Happy to be<br>Unburdened by the thought  
>I could still be lonely"<p>

- Tracy Chapman

**Flashback**

_It was 5:45, and Victoire was almost done patrolling for the night. Most of the Prefects hated their duties, but Victoire liked to use the time to think. She had forgiven Teddy yesterday for blowing up at her, even though she knew she would not have been able to stay upset anyway. Love is like that, apparently. He had told her he was "okay" with her and Marc's relationship, but she could have sworn for a second that he was going to tell her that he may have feelings for her. There was something in his eyes that made her believe he had something he'd been dying to tell her, but it didn't matter now, she had probably imagined it anyway. She was just about to head down to the Quidditch pitch for their last practice before the big game when she felt a pair of hands cover her eyes. She knew instantly who it was, but unfortunately she also knew exactly who it wasn't. At times Victoire scared herself with the sick little way she could make almost anything about Teddy. He probably didn't think of her half as much, but that all came with the whole 'I'm deliriously in love with a guy who doesn't notice or reciprocate' lifestyle._

_"Guess who?" a deep voice whispered into her ear. Again, she knew who it was so why not have a little fun? Despite what people may say she _was_ a Weasley after all._

_"Oh Blaise, how did you get into Hogwarts? I thought we were keeping this a secret." she teased. When she turned around she couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face. Success! "I'm kidding, you idiot."_

_"Blimey Vic, my git of a father? " he asked as he mocked hurt expression. He began laughing too and pulled Victoire close to him. "You Weasleys think you're so funny." Before she could respond he kissed her, which was fine with Victoire because she had no flirty, cute, witty retort for him. Dom had gotten She really wasn't funny, and she couldn't take a joke, which was a fact that her cousin James pointed out to her many times. Before Marc could deepen the kiss, Victoire pulled away like she always did._

"_Come on, Tori give me some love. I feel like we never get to have time for ourselves." He said. That wasn't true at all; they had spent countless hours together talking and snogging for 5 months now. She couldn't understand what more he wanted from her. "You do know that I'm graduating in just 2 weeks?" he asked. Yes she did know, because Teddy was also graduating in just 2 short weeks. There she went again; making everything about the boy who wasn't her boyfriend for the hundredth time. Speaking of time, she didn't have much left to get this whole thing figured out with Teddy. Oh crap, she did it again._

"_Did you hear me Vic?" he asked a little too patiently. Did she ever?_

_"Sorry, my mind's all over the place."_

"_I was only wondering if you'd like to go on a proper date with me after your practice?" he repeated. Yeah, she definitely hadn't heard that._

"_Of course, __I would love to!" she squealed. She was literally bouncing with excitement and her face grew into a smile that she previously thought was reserved only for Teddy. She was genuinely happy about her date with Marc though, was that normal? Yes. Being happy that your boyfriend is taking you out on a date is very normal. _

"_Great, what time should we meet?" he asked with a grin wider than the one she was wearing. He had a nice smile when he smiled and it made her a little breathless; another feeling that was reserved for Teddy. What in the world was going on?_

"_Depends on how practice goes, but I'll aim to meet you at 10:00. Is that ok?" _

"_Whatever you wish love. Have a good practice." He kissed her on the cheek and walked away with a little bounce in his step. Somehow she had never really noticed the effect she had on him; maybe their relationship wasn't purely physical after all. It was obvious that he liked her, having asked her out and staying with her all this time, but could he actually like her like her? That may pose a tiny problem in her little plan. Victoire decided not to worry about it; she was probably just over-thinking things like she always does. All the over-thinking was making her tired and at this point she didn't want to go to practice at all, but at least now she had something to look forward to when it ended. _

Practice ended with only one fight between Rox and Ted, which for the Gryffindor team meant that it went very well. Usually it ended with all of them screaming at each other and at least one person injured; it was just too bad it took them all season to figure this out. Victoire could have sworn that when she touched Teddy on the pitch, his hair turned a shade of blue that perfectly matched her eyes. It was only for a brief second but she wasn't over-thinking anything; she knew what she saw. However, she couldn't dwell on that now; she was almost done getting ready for her date.

Victoire looked amazing- if she did say so herself. She was wearing a strapless, pale blue silk dress that stopped just below her knees. Her long hair was pulled back into a messy bun at the nape of her neck, and she used light make-up. She chose simple silver ballet flats and looked at herself in the mirror once more before making her way down to the Room of Requirement. At the moment, her life felt like a cheesy eighties movie. Her grades were good, she had a kind, handsome boyfriend, and Gryffindor had a chance to win the House Cup. All she needed was an up-beat pop song playing as she made her way out of Gryffindor tower. She couldn't think of a single thing that could make her life more perfect. Well, nothing that she could actually have could make her life more perfect. She walked down the corridors with a light bounce in her step from excitement, and anticipation curled in her stomach. Believe it or not this was her first real date ever, and she wanted it to go smoothly. As she came around the corner she saw Damarco standing in front of the wall where the room would appear. He looked even more regal and poised than usual in hi black dress robes. Death eater by association father or not, no one could deny that Damarco Zabini was a _very_ good-looking guy.

"Tori! You look so pretty." He said before kissing her on the cheek. _Pretty? _When she picked out her outfit she had been going for more of a 'gorgeous' or 'exquisite' look and like any girl she was hoping to get some kind of 'blown-away' response. It wasn't like she didn't appreciate the compliment, but she was Victoire Weasley; everyone knew she was "pretty". She didn't let it bother her too much though; maybe he was just nervous about their evening. "Close your eyes." He whispered. She did as she was told and heard him pace back and forth three times.

He grabbed her shoulders and led her inside the room before giving her a light kiss on her eyelids, which she interpreted as her cue to look. When she opened her eyes, she had to look back to the hallway to make sure she was still in Hogwarts. He had turned the room into _La Palme d'Or_, her favorite restaurant in France. There was a large, white grand piano in the corner that had been charmed to play contemporary pieces and one round table with a white tablecloth and single candle. There were two large red chairs on either side of the table and the room smelled of freshly baked bread. It was amazing.

"Do you like it?" he asked nervously.

"Yes, it's perfect! I used to come here every summer with my mum before Dominique and Louis were born. After Dom was born my mum was always too busy trying to tame a beast to travel to France for over-priced food. I would always pretend I didn't care if we went or not because I didn't want her to be stressed for no reason. It's like a bit of my childhood, before everything got complicated you know? How did you know about this place?" she wondered aloud.

"Well, I ran into your cousin Molly yesterday and-"

"Enough said." She laughed. _So the mouth can come in handy_. Victoire turned around to face him and gave him a long, sweet kiss. The date had just started and it was already one of the best nights of her life. "Thank you, this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"Really? I would think a girl like you had blokes practically jumping off of buildings for you." He said only half-jokingly.

"That's absurd." she laughed, "Everyone assumes I can have any guy I want but that's hardly the case. Half of the guys I know are too afraid to actually ask me out, and the other half are in my family."

"That must be tough." He added.

_You have no idea. _"Not really. C'est la vie, non?" He smiled at her and pulled out her chair in a very gentlemanly fashion. As they began eating the dinner that had just appeared on the table, Victoire could sense that Marc was either nervous or anxious about something. His hands were shaking as he tried to light the candles, and she could see little beads of sweat forming near his brow.

"Marc, are you ok? You seem a bit shaky." She said. He coughed out a laugh so loud that Victoire couldn't help but giggle. He was really being quite ridiculous considering they had been alone hundreds of times before.

"Well Victoire," _Victoire? _"Actually there is something I wanted to say," he started. Victoire could have sworn she heard footsteps near the door, but ignored it because she was afraid of what her boyfriend was about to tell her. Was he breaking up with her? That was not a part of the plan. He stood from his seat and watched him practically glide over to where she was sitting before kneeling down on one knee.

"Tori, you are the most amazing witch I have ever laid eyes on. I can't believe that you chose to be with me when you could have any guy in the world. You've made my last year one of the happiest." He paused and Victoire realized she had been holding a breath. This was definitely not a break-up. She reached for her glass to get some water. "I love you Victoire." He finished. She was so shocked that she dropped her glass. He loved her? She had not seen that coming. She didn't know what to do next so she did what she thought any girl in this situation would have done. She kissed him.

She kissed him more passionately than she ever kissed anyone before, putting all of her thoughts and emotions into it. Marc deepened the kiss to a point that Victoire had never imagined possible as he picked her up with ease. She felt the need to feel loved deep in her stomach in a way she never had before. Desire burned in places she didn't know she could feel and she was helpless to Marc's actions. He had really been holding out on her. Marc pushed her against the wall but instead of pain she felt pleasure. She hitched her leg around his waist as he began devouring her neck. She wanted him so badly that it hurt. He kept saying that he loved her and she kept kissing him and she literally felt him everywhere.

Everywhere except for her heart. No matter how many times he told her or how deeply they kissed her heart was not in it. It should have been simple. He loved her, and she should just feel the same. Why couldn't she just feel the same? She wanted to love Marc and everything would be easier if she did, but this was not right. It would only be right with _Teddy._ And then, as quickly as their kiss started, it stopped, leaving Victoire breathless and confused. He had jumped back about three feet as if she'd just hexed him or something. Had she done something wrong? He was staring at her with a look of hurt and confusion, both of them breathing heavily.

"Teddy?" he asked in a voice so soft that it was scary.

"What?" Now she was really confused, "What are you talking about?"

"You just called me Teddy." He said. She did? "How could- are you thinking about Lupin?"

"I just…I don't know. It was an accident." she answered.

"An Accident?" he barked. "Vic, I just told you I love you! And you call out some other blokes' name! That's not an accident."

"Marc, I-" he lifted a hand cutting her off. He took a few deep breaths, calming himself before he spoke again in a voice that wasn't angry or soft; but sad

"Did you accidentally forget to tell me you love me back?" he asked. Victoire couldn't find words. He walked towards her slowly and placed both hands on either side of her face, while she tried to look anywhere but his eyes. "Do…do you love me back?

Victoire looked down at her shoes and took a deep, steadying breath. There was no fixing this; she might as well tell the truth. "No. I love Teddy, it's always been him." She confessed to both of them. She looked into his eyes but wished she hadn't, because what she saw there was enough to break even the cruelest witch. She had never seen such kind eyes hold such sorrow. It was against everything she believed in to hurt anyone and the weight off what she had done crashed on her suddenly. Victoire began crying because that was the only thing she could do; she had done that to him. "Marc, I'm so sorry. I never meant for it to happen this way. I never could have imagined you would fall in love with me, you have to believe. But I can fix it! I…I know I don't love you yet, but I can learn. If you just give me some time, maybe I can love you too-"

Marc silenced rant her with a kiss. "I can't ask that of you. A girl like you deserves true love, and I can't give you that. I suppose this is goodbye then." He kissed her on the cheek and took in the scent of her hair on last time.

She was crying hysterically now and didn't think she would ever stop. She really didn't deserve to stop. She cried because she wanted Marc to know that she cared; that she wasn't just a heartless bitch using him to make someone else jealous. She cried because she was hurt, and because she hurt Marc, knocking him over like a pawn in a game of chess. It was her game; she hadn't considered the feelings of the other players. Had she even asked if they wanted to play? She cried because through all of the sadness, a small part of her was happy that they were over, which made her cry harder because she had never really given them a chance to start. She cried because it wasn't fair, and because it didn't matter how hard she cried. Teddy would probably never reciprocate her love so it had all been a waste anyway. Even if Teddy had loved her before this would change that. Who was to say she wouldn't do the same thing to him eventually? No one could call her a saint now; not after this.

It wasn't until she heard the Fat Lady ask for the password that she even knew Marc had been carrying her. He was being too nice; he should have left her there on the floor. She felt herself being transferred from one set of arms to another. They were longer, familiar; perfect. Victoire had stopped crying, but wished she hadn't because she now felt nothing. She was numb to everything that wasn't the arms holding her now. The person carrying her let out a long breath, as if they had been holding it and waiting for her their entire life. She couldn't really explain how this person made her feel; it was as if an angel had come to protect her and she knew they would never let her go. Somehow-despite everything- she felt better. Wherever she was it felt safe and warm here; like she was home. Obviously she was going crazy. Her angel laid her on a bed that she presumed to be hers and she felt a small pain in her chest when their arms left her body. She could immediately feel the tears coming back, but then her angel lay with her and quicker than it came, the pain went away. What the hell was happening to her? She figured this had to be a dream; but dream or not, she would stay here with her angel forever.

Because at this point anywhere was better than reality.

**A/N: Was that what you were expecting Victoire to say? The whole situation was really sad, I nearly cried lol. Well I hope you liked it! The next chapter will be about the kids that aren't in Hogwarts yet! Please, please, please review! Even if you hate it, I'd love to know :-)  
>-Jazz<strong>


	5. We'll Be Alright

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does :-) Duh.**

"We are young, we run free  
>Stay up late, we don't sleep<br>Got our friends, got the night  
>We'll be alright"<p>

-Travie McCoy

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_It was the day before the entire Weasley family was going to Hogwarts to watch Teddy, Victoire, Molly, and Roxanne along with the rest of the Gryffindor team compete against Slytherin for the Quidditch championship. James, his siblings, and his cousins were all spending the night at The Burrow, because it made group travel a lot easier on the parents. Usually, spending time with his cousins was fun, because all the different ages and personalities could make for lots of noise and games and pranks, but James really wasn't into all of that today. The problem was that they spent a little too much time together. He was with Al and Lily all of the time because -according to their parents- they were his siblings. Fred spent the night at least twice a week and he was over at Dom's twice as much as that. He saw the others just as much because they all went to the same Elementary School, and then they got to just go home and have some alone time right? Wrong. Almost every day after school they were watched by their Grandmother until their parents get off of work. Long story short, he was getting annoyed with the whole 'big happy family' thing and really hadn't wanted to spend his Saturday here at the Burrow with his cousins. The only reason he hadn't resisted more was because he was already treading on thin ice with his mother, and the slightest mishap could land him in deep trouble. _

_He- along with Dom and Fred- was unsuccessfully trying to come up with code names for each other when they heard their Grandmother call them down for lunch. All other thoughts vanished as he raced down to the kitchen with only the thought of food on his mind. Since there were no adults there, James sat at the head of the table where his Grandfather usually sat. He liked this spot best because he could see everyone at the same time; and of course because he felt in charge. After Roxy had gone to Hogwarts, James-being the oldest now- appointed himself as sort of the leader of their little pack. Shockingly enough, the younger kids seemed to listen to him for the most part. Hugo, Louis, and even Al kind of looked up to him, and Lily and Lucy admired him almost as much as they did Teddy; which was a lot. The only one he had a problem with was Rose, but they had never really gotten along anyway. If it wasn't for Al keeping the peace, they would have started a war by now. Something about her 'do the right thing' and 'know it all' persona didn't mesh well with his 'too cool for everything' attitude. Not to mention the fact that she found enjoyment in reading; it just wasn't right._

_Speaking of the nerd, it was her little brother's turn to pick what they had for lunch, much to everyone's disliking. Rose and Hugo travel a lot with their mum and dad, and Hugo liked them to try some of the weird foods they have in other countries. They'd been subjected to concoctions like Meat Loaf, Frog Legs, and something called Beondegi, which looked more like boiled maggots than an Asian delicacy. If it was up to James they would have regular old kidney pie every day, but it wasn't his choice this time. _

"_So Huey," James started "what's for lunch today?"_

"_Scetti and Meatballs!" He yelled. Noodles and sauce; not too bad. He was going to get to eat lunch today after all._

"_It's Spaghetti", his sister corrected him, putting a really big emphasis on the "p" sound. Poor Hugo probably had to put up with that all day from his boss of a sister. Their Grandma came back in the room with 9 plates floating behind her. He watched as the plates were distributed one by one, followed by a large glass of pumpkin juice. Bless his Grandmother's sweet heart. When James got his plate he instinctively made a gagging noise at something strange he saw touching his noodles. _

"_Um, Grand Molly, I think you accidentally dropped a bunch of tiny trees all over my plate." He told her. He looked around and noticed that everyone else had them on their plates too. Was this a joke? If so, he didn't get the punch line, but he'd let his Grandmother explain herself. He looked at Dom and Fred and they exchanged disgusted looks. Louis was prodding his with his fork and Albus and Lily smelled theirs, while Hugo, Lucy and Rose were nibbling away on the things as if this was normal for them._

"_No no dear, I put it on your plate on purpose. It's called broccoli and it's good for you. Now eat up." _Good for me or good for my gag reflexes?_ The stuff smelled terrible and all he wanted to do was get rid of it. "I trust you all can manage on your own for a few minutes, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," his Grandma answered. She walked out of the room and James turned to the three cousins that were eating the broccoli._

"_How can you guys eat that stuff? It looks gross!" he shouted_

"_It smells worse." Fred and Dom chimed._

"_It's just a vegetable James," Rose said in that annoying voice. A vegetable? He gave her a look of disgust that she mistook for ignorance. "A vegetable is a plant, or part of a plant that-"_

"_Oh for crying out loud, I know what a vegetable is Rose." _

"_Well then you know that it won't kill you."_

"_Yeah James, are you afraid of a little vegetable?" Albus said, backing up Rose like he always did._

"_You eat it then." James said, flicking a piece of broccoli at Albus as hard as he could. His aim was really off, because it hit Louis square in the forehead, causing Dom to go into a fit of laughter. Thinking Dom had thrown the broccoli; Louis grabbed a handful of Spaghetti and flung it across the room with an impressive amount of force. Unfortunately, it landed in Rose's hair and she instinctively shook her head furiously to rid her hair of the substance. The more spaghetti she got out of her hair, the more it got it all over Lily, who jumped up screaming and knocked her juice over into Hugo's lap. Trying to defend his sister and Lily, Hugo threw a dinner roll at Louis, but it bounced off of him and hit an unexpecting Fred in the eye. Caught off guard by the hit, Fred choked on the sip of Pumpkin juice he had been drinking, spraying juice all over Dom and Lucy._

_From there-for lack of a better term- all hell broke loose. James really couldn't tell you what the specifics of what was happening because there were noodles, broccoli, juice and bread going everywhere. He, James Sirius Potter, had started a food fight without even trying; it was classic. Even goody two shoes Rosie was busy hurling her lunch across the room at the others. Right when it was about to get good, their Grandmother came back in the room with her wand in hand, obviously expecting worse. She took one good look at the scene taking place in her favorite room in the house, and James knew without a doubt what was coming next._

"_CHILDREN! STOP IT THIS INSTANT! Have you all lost your minds?" she bellowed. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and had the decency to look ashamed at what they were doing. But since James hadn't technically been a part of the actual fight, he was just going to sit back and enjoy watching the others get in trouble." Nobody move, I'm calling your parents." Okay, it would have been ok getting yelled at by their Grandmother, funny even; but bringing in their parents was a game changer and-if James could be honest- a bit of a low blow. _

"_Our parents? But-"Fred started, but one look from Molly and he decided against speaking. They all sat there looking around and it was obvious each person was deciding who they were going to blame. He wasn't positive that the 'I wasn't actually a part of it, I just started it' argument would hold with his mum, so James silently chose Albus; because that's what little brothers were for. They heard four pops from the dining room and they all knew what was coming. His mum, Aunt Hermione, Uncle George, and Uncle Bill came into the room wearing identical expressions of anger. James called them the Control Patrol, because they were always the parents called on to sort out bad behavior. Ginny, George and Bill were usually there because they were the parents of the repeat offenders - James, Fred, and Dominique- and Hermione rounded out the group because she was stern; and to be honest, a bit scary._

"_Well," his mum started "who did it?" _

_Lucy wasted no time pointing to Fred, who was trying to discretely nod his head towards Hugo. Hugo was glaring at Lily, who was pointing at Rose, who kept chanting Louis' name like the more she snitched on him the more they would believe he did it. Louis was poking Dominique, who probably didn't notice because she was too busy laughing and pointing at James. This brought them full circle as he was pointing to Albus, who was too busy giving puppy dog eyes to blame anyone. It would have been funny if they weren't about to get in trouble._

"_Oh look Ginny," Aunt Hermione said with a smirk that James didn't trust, "they all did it."_

_Uncle George shook his head, "Have I taught you kids nothing? The blame game never works; you've got to stick together." All the kids laughed, and Uncle Bill hit him on the back of the head before speaking._

"_It looks like we'll have to punish the lot of you then." He looked around at the other adults who nodded. "You'll all be staying here while we go to the Quidditch match tomorrow." _

_Ouch.  
><em>

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><p>James was bored. Simple as that. His parents had left that morning to go to the Quidditch match that he had been looking forward to for weeks, and he, along with his baby cousins, was spending the day at Potter Manor being babysat by Teddy's grand mum, Andromeda Tonks. Boring. It wasn't that he had nothing to do, but they all had really been excited about going to the Quidditch match, considering most kids don't get to see Hogwarts before their first day of school. It would have given him a leg up on all the other first years, but he had to kiss that dream goodbye. All because of some stupid broccoli.<p>

Everyone was taking this grounding pretty hard. They were all at the house together, but everyone was being a bit mopey about the punishment. No one really wanted to do anything fun, and everyone was doing their own thing around the house. James didn't see the big deal; they'd been punished loads of times before, or at least he had.

He decided to take another lap of the house and see if there was anyone he could talk to or mess with. Dom was in the kitchen trying to steal a box of biscuits from the cupboard, but his mother had charmed it so that every time you reached for something you weren't supposed to have it moved farther and farther away. Fred was busy using a pro's and pro's list to try and convince Andromeda to smuggle us into Hogwarts. Seeing as she couldn't really hear well, he wasn't getting much done there. Rose was in the library of course, reading to a bunch of Lily's stuffed animals, while Al was playing with his mini Potions set. _They are such nerds. _He went outside to the back yard and saw Louis and Hugo rolling in the grass. He couldn't see the fun in that, so he kept moving to the side of the house where he found Lily and Lucy practicing what they'd learned in their muggle ballet classes. Why was everyone being so boring? He'd have to fix that. The Weasley's were a lot of things but boring was not one of them. James was going to singlehandedly turn this day around if it was the last thing he ever did. Technically it _was_ his fault they got in trouble in the first place, so he was going to make it up to them. It took him no time at all to think of something that everyone liked and he ran to go round everybody up so he could set his plan in motion. With a little coaxing and a small amount of yelling, everyone was standing in a line in front of him looking less than excited. Once he had the attention of the group he spoke. "So listen up guys. I'm really sorry that I got us all in trouble yesterday, but I'm about to make it up to you." Nobody look too convinced.

"Are we going to go to the Quidditch match?" Louis asked hopefully. _Ha! That would take a miracle buddy._

"Of course not, but we're going to do the next best thing. We're going to have our own Quidditch match here!" He said confidently. There was a chorus of yay's and cheers, and James waved his hands to get everyone's attention again. "Fred and I are the oldest, but since he doesn't play Dom and I will be Captains. Each team will have a seeker, keeper, and two chasers and Fred will keep score."

After 10 long minutes the teams were eventually picked. It was James, Rose, Lily and Louis who were playing as Gryffindor, against Dominique, Al, Lucy, and Hugo, who took a very long time deciding to play as Huffinclaw. They all agreed to play with toy brooms, so it would be fair for the younger kids. Fred brought out a portable Quidditch Pitch wheeze that hadn't been released yet, and they began the game. James and Louis went to guard their respective goals, and Lily and Al flew into the air in search of the toy snitch Fred had just released. Lucy, Hugo, Dom and Rose scored goal after goal for a good twenty minutes before Lily spotted the toy snitch. She raced as far as her toy broom let her go and James was so busy cheering for her that Dom got another goal on him. They were now tied 70-70 so whoever caught the snitch won the game. James saw his brother and sister racing as fast as they could. Albus stretched out his arm and was inches away from the snitch, but before he could get his hand around it Lily snatched it from under him and tumbled to the ground. James ran to congratulate her and saw her and Al staring each other down as if they were going to start dueling at any moment. _Brilliant._

"That's not fair, Lily!" Al screamed, "You cheated."

_He's such a big baby, she didn't cheat._ "No I didn't," Lily yelled back even louder. "You were just slow Alby."

"Yeah Alby," Rose taunted before she started giggling at the nickname Lily used for Albus.

"You think that's funny Nosy Rosie?" Albus said before walking towards Rose, who was shaking her head. She was about to say something else but Al had tackled her to the ground and started tickling her relentlessly. Lily tried to pull him off but he only pulled her down and began tickling her too. Louis jumped on top of Albus trying to pry him off of the girls, and while he was distracted Lily wiggled free and ran over to James hugging him around the waist.

"Jamie! Jamie! Help us, it's a Dementor!" she screamed. James hardly ever played these childish games anymore, but she looked so happy James couldn't resist but play along. By now all of the cousins had come over and were running around wildly trying to get away from Dom and Al who were the Dementors. Lucy was on Fred's back chasing after Hugo, and James was running as fast as he could but was tackled to the ground by Dominique.

"James! You're it!" she yelled and James began running after his cousins. They had been having so much fun that he almost forgot they were in trouble. Mission Accomplished. Everybody was having fun, and James had to admit this was one of the best days he'd had in a long time. He may even go as far as to say that this was better than a Quidditch game. He would definitely miss times like this when he went to Hogwarts next year. He would never admit it out loud, but without all of his family he didn't feel complete. More than anything he was going to miss his little sister Lily, who was his little mini-me. It was going to be a big change for the both of them, but he wasn't going to worry about that until much, much later. Until then, he would just enjoy getting in trouble with the rest of the Weasley brats. And that sounded just fine to him.

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><p><strong>AN: This chapter was inspired by my family dinner last weekend. Who knew broccoli had such an effect on children? Hope you like this one! I bet you're wondering what you can do now...REVIEW! It's always appreciated :-). Next chapter we'll be back in the world of Victoire aaaaand... it's about to go down. Will she and Teddy work it out? Or does somebody still have a little growing to do? We'll just have to wait and see!  
>-Jazz<strong>


	6. I'm Yours

**Disclaimer: I, obviously, do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does. She's the truth.  
><strong>

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><p>"I won't hesitate no more<br>No more, It cannot wait  
>I'm sure there's no need to complicate<br>Our time is short  
>This is our fate<br>I'm Yours"

-Jason Mraz

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><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_It was Sunday afternoon at The Burrow, and Teddy had had a pretty rough day playing with all the kids. He had read about 50 books to Al and Rosie, played wizard tag with Fred and James, done arts and crafts projects with Lily, Lucy, Hugo, and Louis, listened to the myth's Molly had heard about Hogwarts, and settled an argument between Dom and Roxy over an imaginary Pygmy Puff. That one was tough because each girl would say the Pygmy Puff, who they named Chloe, had jumped across the room and it had gotten confusing as to where she was. Even Teddy got caught up in it until he realized the thing wasn't even real. Then he came up with the brilliant solution to duplicate her, so that they could both have one. That settled it._

_Everyone wanted to spend time with him because he was the oldest, and he didn't really mind because it made him feel included. It had been weird not having to break up arguments, clean toys, read to crying babies the last two years he had been at Hogwarts. They weren't really his cousins, but he had never regarded them as anything less. Teddy was lucky that he had been taken in by such a loving family and he never took it for granted. Harry and Ginny, who really liked to be called mum, were the best parents anyone could ask for, and the only way he could think of to pay them back was to be sort of a protector of their kids. They may not be related by blood, but James, Lily, and Albus were his siblings. He'd do anything for the snot-nosed, sticky handed, rambunctious kids, and the same went for all of the other kids in the family._

_He was mentally going down a list of cousins to make sure he had spent a proper amount of time with each one. It wasn't a big deal to him, but he and Victoire usually tried to spend as much time with the kids as possible. He then realized he had not seen Victoire all day, but knew exactly where to find her. Before he went to Hogwarts the two of them would go outside by the lake near The Burrow and talk for hours about any and everything. There was a short period when she was 3 and he was 5 that they didn't get along at all. She probably didn't remember well, but they couldn't stand each other. She would pull on his hair and throw things at him, and he'd tried to put her in the floo and send her to wherever babies came from. He'd really gotten in trouble for that one, and it was the first time his mum had really ever yelled at him._

_Of course the adults wouldn't let him live it down, and when they retold the stories even Ginny could laugh about it now. They were way over that part in their relationship now, and when the adults started having more kids it was easier for them to relate to each other. He walked down to the lake and spotted the blonde hair he knew so well. They were really close to one another, and he couldn't wait for her to come to Hogwarts next year. He lied down next to her in the soft grass and they just stared at the sky for a long time. One of his favorite things about Victoire was how calm she could be; unless you made her mad. They could sit around saying nothing to each other and be completely comfortable in the silence. It was kind of their thing. _

"_Sorry I left you alone in there." She said after a while, "If Rose had found one more book for me to read I might have chucked it at her." Teddy laughed at the thought of Vic doing that. She was such a nice person; she would probably read to Rose for days if she knew it was making her happy. She loved her cousins more than anything in the world; even when they were driving her mad or broke her things._

"_Well I'm sorry that you had to miss a very interesting argument over Chloe, the invisible Pygmy Puff." He joked. She laughed before sitting up with a serious expression on her face._

"_Teddy, could I ask you a question?" she asked._

"_You just did. Would you like another?" he teased._

"_Ha Ha" she said sarcastically before fidgeting a little, "When I get to Hogwarts will we still be friends?"_

"_Of course, why would you think we wouldn't?" he asked. That was a ridiculous question._

"_Well you'll be a third year and you probably have loads of friends already, and I'll just be a nobody."_

"_C'mon, I've been separated from my best friend for two years, you think I'm going to act like a prat and forget about you? Not likely."_

"_I guess. I just thought you wouldn't think it was cool to hang out with me anymore since I'm so young." She shrugged. He shook his head and answered her immediately._

"_Tori, you're smart, pretty, funny, and you kick serious arse at Quidditch. You'll make friends in no time; I should be worried about you becoming too cool for me." He said. It was true. She was so easy to be around that people would love to get to know her._

"_Well then we'll make a pact." She said. "We'll always be there for each other no matter what." She stuck out her hand pointing her pinky finger and he looked down at it confusedly._

"_You want to make an Unbreakable Vow?" he asked nervously. She laughed and shook her head._

"_No silly, we're going to pinky swear." She said, as if that was supposed to clear things up for him. He copied the hand gesture she was making and they linked pinkies. "I, Victoire Weasley, swear we'll be friends forever." She said. She looked at him expectantly, so he figured it was his turn._

"_I, Teddy Lupin, swear we'll be friends forever, and then some." And he meant it.  
><em>

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><p>Teddy woke up in the middle of the night, and when he tried to roll over he realized he was in bed with someone. He looked at his watch and it was only 3 am. They had to get up soon for the Quidditch match that didn't really seem to matter anymore. He looked at the girl sleeping in his arms and memories of last night quickly flooded into his head.<p>

Someone had sent a patronus to the Head's Dorms saying that he needed to meet them outside of Gryffindor Tower immediately. Not sure what to expect, he raced to the Tower and saw Damarco Zabini carrying a less than ok Victoire. Teddy instinctively wanted to hex the living daylights out of Zabini, but Vic was his first priority and Marc seemed pretty torn up himself. He quickly gave the Fat Lady the password and grabbed Vic out of Zabini's hands.

Once she was in his arms he let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and felt Vic instantly relax like she knew he was there. It felt like in that moment everything clicked in place. A part of him that he didn't know he was missing had been filled, and all of his energy was pulled toward the body in his arms. She was his everything, and Teddy wouldn't ever let her go again.

He muttered the spell that allowed him into the girls' dorm and carried Vic to the 5th year's room. There was only one empty bed, and he figured it had to be hers. He laid her down on the bed and turned to leave, but he couldn't move. Physically he could if he wanted to, but there was no way that he could actually leave her there alone. Vic let out a small sob, but he was lying with her before she could even get it out. He knew he could never leave her, even if she wanted him to.

He wanted to go back to sleep, but was afraid that he would wake up and realize that none of it had been real. He was tempted to lean down and take in the scent of her hair, but didn't want to toil with whatever dream he was having. He just sat there waiting for her to snap out of whatever daze she was in. He hadn't been this close to her since they use to make forts when they were younger. It felt familiar and perfect, and it made Teddy wonder why he had wasted so many years denying the feelings he had for her. Vic rolled over and opened her eyes, staring straight into his. He waited for her to yell at him, but all she did was give a faint smile and nuzzle closer to his chest. He stroked her hair soothingly and she looked up at him with an expression he couldn't identify.

"This is the most realistic dream I've ever had," she said. "The feelings, the smells; usually you wake up by now, you know what I mean?" she said dreamily.

"Yeah, I know," he answered "but I don't think this is a dream Vic." She pulled away from him and looked up at his face before looking herself over. She must of just remembered what happened last night because her eyes starting tearing up.

"Marc and I broke up." She said softly.

"I'm so sorry, Vic." He said honestly. He really did feel bad, because from the way she had looked last night she seemed pretty beat up about it. "Do you want to talk about it?" Of course she didn't want to talk about it, that was a stupid thing to say.

"He told me he loved me and I…I didn't know what to say because I don't love him. I felt horrible because deep down I was glad to be shot of him. But now I feel like an idiot because I let go of someone who loved me. What if no one ever loves me again? But I deserve to be lonely; I'm horrid." She said. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. She truly didn't understand how people saw her. She was so humble, and caring, and amazing and he couldn't hold in how he was feeling any longer.

"Vic, there's something I need to say. I know this may not be the best time, all things considered, but I've already wasted enough time as is. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Every day that goes by it seems like I discover something new about you to love. I've known you all of your life and I still can't figure you out because there's just so much about you to fall in love with. You touch me in a way no one else ever has, and you have given me so many reasons to smile. Being like this with you right now; I've never felt anything like it. I don't know how I was surviving without you before because it is so clear to me now that you are a part of me. I love you, Victoire Weasley."

A single tear rolled down her eye."I know." She said

"Apparently I was the only one who didn't," he replied. He felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. All of the signs were there; he was just too dumb to see them.

"I love you too Teddy. More than I can even explain to you." She replied. "We were meant to be, but I don't think now is the best time for us to be together." she was crying again, and each tear that dropped felt like it was piercing his heart. "I'm so sorry."

"You don't ever have to apologize to me for telling me how you feel Vic. I just want to make you happy; you can have all of the time you need."

"You don't have to be so nice to me. This is mean; what I did was mean!" she shrieked.

"You're not a mean person; I know that for a fact. You would never intentionally hurt someone even if you really wanted to. It's ok that you made a mistake Tori, you aren't perfect. Nobody is. You need some time to yourself, that's completely understandable." He assured her.

"You mean the world to me Teddy; I just can't be with you yet."

"I know." He did understand. She had just gotten out of a relationship and he didn't want to rush anything with her. They would take their time and do things right. They were Victoire and Teddy, they were meant to be. He kissed her on the forehead and held her close. "I promised you I will always be here for you, and I will."

She smiled his favorite smile and held her hand out to him, pointing her pinky. He laughed and connected his pinky with hers.

"I, Victoire Weasley, promise my heart belongs to you. I'll love you forever." she said.

He was so happy, he couldn't help but smile. "I, Teddy Lupin, promise my heart has always belonged to you. I'll love you forever, and then some." And he meant it.


	7. Speechless

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter. That is all.**

"You have shown me a love  
>That leaves me speechless<br>We are speechless  
>I am speechless"<p>

-Steven Curtis

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><p><em>Flashback<br>Molly peeked out of the curtains surrounding her bed to see if her roommates were awake. Everyone was still sleeping, so she grabbed her toiletry bag and made a speedy exit to the bathroom. It was only 5 a.m. but she could already tell this day wasn't going to be much fun for her. Partly because it was the big Quidditch match that she could care less about. She wasn't crazy about the sport like the rest of her cousins were, but she played because it kept her in shape and she wasn't terrible at it. Another part was because she was absolutely sick and tired of these early morning sessions in the washrooms. Molly looked at herself in the mirror and groaned internally at her appearance. She still looked like boring old Molly._

_Her curly, auburn hair was duller than ever and her big, boring brown eyes were still just that. Her hips seemed a little curvier, but her breasts had definitely gotten bigger. _Well at least that's something_. She pulled out the muggle hair straightener that her Aunt Hermione gave her for her fourteenth birthday, and tapped her wand to it three times to heat it. Why couldn't her hair be naturally straight and red like her sisters or Lily's? _

_Molly was the only Weasley girl who had absolutely no Weasley traits. Aside from her last name there wasn't a thing about her that resembled her father. She was all Audrey. It wasn't that she didn't like her mother's genes; she was Brazilian and had passed down all of her Latin American traits to Molly. She had no freckles or pale skins, no piercing blue eyes, and she didn't have a very athletic frame. Molly was all Carizzales, and no Weasley._

_She fussed over her hair until it couldn't get any straighter. Once she was done she did a holding charm on her hair so that it wouldn't start curling if she started sweating during the game. She put on light make-up and finished up with some shimmery powder to give her that "natural" glow. She looked at herself and gave a satisfied smile. She looked flawless, but not made-up, which was exactly what she was going for. This way, when she woke up and put on nothing but lipgloss and mascara, everyone would fawn over how amazing her skin was andasked what she did to get that natural glow. _If they only knew._ She quietly tip toed back to the dorms and peeked in to make sure everyone was still sleeping. She ran back to her bed and lay down; making sure her hair was carefully draped around her pillow before drifting to sleep.  
><em>

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><p>"Molly, wake up!" she heard a familiar voice call. She sat up and saw her cousin Roxy standing at the foot of her bed looking anxious and hyper.<p>

"Ugh Rox, what are you doing in here?" she asked. Roxy plopped down on her bed and Molly couldn't help but feel annoyed at the sight of her. She was still a little girl now, but in a year on two she'd be drop-dead gorgeous. Her hair wasn't red either, but it at least has a deep reed tint to it that Molly could have killed for. She had hazel eyes, unrealistically long eyelashes, and perfect, full lips that Molly wanted to smack right off of her face. She really was pretty, and she didn't have to sneak to the washrooms at the crack of dawn to look it.

"I'm waking you up, obviously. Teddy wants us all to eat a good breakfast today and I'm on Princess Molly patrol." She joked.

"Yeah, yeah." She mumbled. The princess thing was really getting old. Molly pulled her Quidditch uniform out of her trunk and got dressed speedily. Neither girl spoke, and if Molly hated anything it was silence. "So what's going on with you?" she asked.

"Since you saw me last night? Not much." She answered before fidgeting a little. "Actually, something weird did happen." Molly tied her last shoe and looked up eagerly, waiting for her to go on. "Well, I had just come from a walk with-"

"What? With who?" she asked. What was she doing out late at night with some boy? If Roxy got a boyfriend before her she would officially curse this damned day.

"That's not the important part." She interjected.

"What do you mean it's not important? You were on a date weren't you?"

"I honestly wasn't, but that's not what this is about! I saw Vic and Zabini on a date and you'll never guess what happened!" She said. She waited for her to finish but she was just standing there with a stupid smug look on her face.

"I'm not going to guess Roxy, just tell me" she snapped.

"Tell you what?" she heard Victoire call from the doorway. Molly groaned out loud; now she may never find out.

"Nothing" Roxy quickly replied. "I told her I had some gossip to get her out of bed and she fell for it." _Really Roxy?_ Victoire laughed and Molly got a good look at her. She looked sickeningly happy, which was annoying considering Molly just wished she could go back to sleep.

"Let's go! We're wasting daylight!" Victoire chirped. Molly put half of her hair up and followed Molly and Roxy out of her dorm. They reached the common room and saw Teddy sitting in his armchair spinning his Keeper's Helmet on his finger. He looked up when he heard their footsteps and a huge smile crept across his face. _That's not weird at all._

"There my ladies are!" he yelled, "You guys are looking better than ever!" She and Roxy exchanged confused looks, but Victoire went on as if this was normal. "Is anyone else still in the dorms?" he asked.

"Nope, everyone else is at breakfast already!" Victoire answered.

"Are you guys on some kind of drug or something? If so, I'm just warning you now /I won't be there for the intervention." Molly replied. Both Vic and Teddy laughed and headed for the door.

They made their way down to the Great Hall and she could have sworn that everyone around her was skipping. When they opened the doors, the Gryffindor table erupted into a fit of cheers. Molly bypassed her gaggle of girlfriends and sat in the middle of the table with the team. Molly wasn't the least bit hungry; another thing that set her apart from the Weasley clan. They fought like animals over all meals, while she got full really fast and was a picky eater. The smell of the sausages and eggs made her want to puke, but she forced down some pumpkin juice and toast; if Teddy thought she wasn't eating he'd go all "big brother" on her. The doors to the Hall opened again and Damarco came in looking tired and miserable. He looked over at their table and Molly followed his line of sight to Victoire, who was laughing and talking with Teddy. _What happened there?_

"Morning Molly!" Chase Finnegan greeted her. She hadn't noticed he wasn't there.

"Morning." She replied. He seemed to be out of breath and had gold paint covering his hands. Chase had the confidence level of a butterfly, and you seldom heard him speak. He was cute though, which was one of the only things keeping him from being labeled as a weirdo.

"You look nice today." He added with a nod. "Um, I mean, not that you don't look nice any other day but you look...really nice today." Well somebody was being talkative this morning; maybe I should start calling him Chasey Mouth. She laughed at her own joke before speaking.

"Thanks Chase, were you decorating?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Your hands, they're covered in paint." She dipped her napkin in water before reaching over and grabbing his hands, which were really sweaty. _Ew._ "Next time try getting some on whatever you're working on." She wiped his hands until the majority of the paint was gone. She leaned back into her seat and he was staring at her with a tiny smile on his face. He was breathing heavily and it reminded her of the birthing exercises her mom did when she was pregnant with Lucy. She left him to his staring and turned her attention to Roxy, who had apparently just found out some very upsetting news. "What did I miss?" she asked.

"I got a letter from Ginny this morning saying that the little kids won't be coming to the game today." Teddy said nonchanlantly.

"Why not?"

"Well apparently they had a food fight in the kitchen at the Burrow, and since they all blamed each other they had to stay back at Potter Manor today." He said.

"Poor kids, I bet they're pretty beat up about it." Victoire said thoughtfully.

Molly laughed. "Really Vic? I can't believe our parents thought that leaving them together was punishment. If I know them, they're having the time of their lives right now." She'd bet all her money that James started it; Hogwarts was not ready for him. She was pulled out of her thoughts by loud cheering and realized that the team was heading out of the Great Hall. She ran to catch up and tried to get her head in the game, which was really hard considering she didn't really care whether or not they won. She knew it was Teddy's last game and all but honestly, her world wouldn't end if they lost. She'd probably take a nap; it was only ten in the morning but she was drained.

They got to the locker room and everyone started their pre-game rituals or just stood idly by waiting for the game to start. Molly was leaning back against lockers playing with her hair when she felt someone sit down. She looked over at the figure next to her and realized it was Chase. The two of them had never really gotten to know each other because he was so quiet and laid back; the complete opposite of Molly. He was that "golden boy" type, who all the girls loved because he was so nice, and she was "Princess Molly", that boys dreamed of even getting a second glance from. They were different, but they both had a certain sense of unattainability about them. He was a year older than her, and as far as she knew he had never had a girlfriend, and much to people's disbelief, she had never had an actual boyfriend.

"You've been awfully quiet today Molly" he said, starting a conversation with her for the second time since...ever.

She let out a frustrated sigh, "And you've been awfully chatty today. What do they call that, the pot calling the kettle black?" she mused without really thinking. This was the most they'd ever spoken to each other and she was being bitchy; curse her big mouth.

"The pot calling the who, what?" he asked.

"Calling the kettle black" she laughed. "It kind of means you're contradicting yourself, I don't know. My Aunt Hermione's parents are muggles and I heard one of them say it once." She rambled.

"Ah, well sorry about that kettle." He joked.

"No problem pot." She replied. He was doing that weird breathing again so it was a great relief to both of them when Madam Hooch came in letting them know it was time to line-up and fly out. She heard Brendon Davies announce the Slytherin team followed by an equal amount of booing and cheering. She got in her usual place behind Victoire and mounted her broom.

"_And last but not least, the third Chaser for the Gryffindor Lions, Molly Weasley." Davies boomed._

Whether it was because she was last, or because everybody loved her, her cheers were the loudest. _As they should be._ She flew up to meet her team in the air and took her place in the back corner of their pyramid formation. They did one lap around the pitch before flying off to their respective places in the air.

"_And now I have the insane pleasure to introduce some of Hogwarts most beloved alumni. Please welcome Harry Potter, Hermione Weasley, and Ron Weasley. Also joining them today are Ginny Potter, Fred Weasley, Angelina Johnson, Fleur Weasley, and Bill Weasley."_

No applause Molly got could ever compare to the noise she heard then. She looked to her left and saw 8 figures in the stands waving, making a mental note that there should have been two other figures there as well. She should've known her parents wouldn't come; when she was little her father told her Quidditch wasn't a practical use of time. _Whatever._ She heard the whistle from Madam Hooch and silently prayed for the game to go by fairly quickly. She turned to her right and saw Victoire and Alexie racing towards her. Vic was holding the Quaffle with Jada Goyle right on her heels. Molly raced ahead and caught the ball from Vic. She circled back to throw Goyle off and once she was sure she was in the clear she sped towards the goal. She wasn't focused on anything but the game ending and threw the ball at the goal with all of her might.

"_10 points to Gryffindor!"_

"Nice one Molly!" Chase complimented. She had just scored the first goal! Nice. From there Molly was on a roll. She scored 5 out of the next 8 goals for Gryffindor and the score was now 90-60 with their team leading. She found herself with the Quaffle in her hands once again and tried to go for her 7th goal. She was inches away from the goal when a bludger flew past her almost an inch away from her nose. She stopped her pursuit and looked to see that the attack came from Grayson Goyle. _That arse. _She tossed the Quaffle behind her hoping that Vic or Lexie would catch it.

"_And another for Gryffindor. That brings the score to 100-60."_

She looked back at Goyle to see that he was being attacked with a series of bludgers from Chase and Alaric; apparently all those practices full of hitting most of the team with bludgers were coming in handy. She noticed Jada Goyle racing past her with the Quaffle and turned around attempting to pressure her, but she quickly went for a shot. Teddy swiftly leaned out and caught the Quaffle before winking at Jada and throwing it back. Jada probably thought he was flirting but Molly knew that he was signaling Roxy to wrap up the game. She looked up to find her cousin and saw that she was diving for the snitch upside down; eyes closed of course. The Slytherin Seeker quickly caught up and tried to steal the Snitch from under her. As soon as he was directly under her she tilted her broom so she was lateral to the ground, and raced the opposite way where she closed her hand around something.

"_Roxanne Weasley has caught the Snitch with an amazing catch! Gryffindor wins 250-60!"_

She raced to the middle of the pitch where the team was celebrating. Everyone was cheering and Teddy looked like he was about to cry. She was just about to congratulate him when she heard a loud screeching noise coming from the announcer's mic.

"Excuse me!" she heard from the speakers. She along with everyone else looked up to see Chase Finnegan standing on top of the announcer's desk. Once he had everyone's attention he instantly turned beet red; he was obviously way out of his comfort zone_._ "Uh…thanks. Um, Molly Weasley?" he asked. She looked around to make sure there were no other Molly Weasley's running up to meet him. She caught Roxy's eye who was motioning for her to turn around. He must be talking to her.

"I usually don't talk much as you know, but um a very wise girl encouraged me to dig deep and find some confidence. Well I tried, and almost had a panick attack while speaking to you today." He confessed. She heard some people giggling but she didn't care; she couldn't believe this was happening. What was happening? "So there's something I've been meaning to ask you, but since I obviously am not good with words I thought maybe I could do this a little differently."

He turned towards the Gryffindor section and whistled a signal to their Housemates. Everyone in the section reached under their chairs and held a sheet of parchment over their heads. Each paper had a marking on it in the same shimmery gold paint he had on his hands that morning. At first it looked like it may as well have been Ancient Runes, but as more and more people held up their parchments she could see that it spelled out something.

She slowly read the words, _"MOLLY, WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME?"_

Wow, was all that she could think. Sure, a few guys had asked her out before, but never in front of the entire school and a rather large portion of her family. He was so sweet, she would have cried if hundreds of people weren't staring at her.

"Molly, say something!" Victoire yelled. But she couldn't speak, she was...speechles? Chase Finnegan had made Molly Weasley speechless. She nodded silently with a huge smile on her face and a round of applause erupted from the stands. She flew up to the stands to meet Chase who was smiling just as widely.

"Cat got your tongue kettle?" he joked nervously.

"Shut it, pot." She answered. He kissed her sweetly before turning to the crowd and bowing. She laughed and gave a bow as well; today wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Good golly Miss Molly! My dad always said it's the quiet boys you need to watch out for :-) Hope you liked it! I didn't expect to get so into this chapter, but it turned out to be my longest yet! Keep reading and reviewing and keep an eye out for the next chapter!  
>-Jazz<strong>


	8. They Grow Up Too Soon

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I wish I did, but I don't.**

"I can remember when you fit in the palm of my hand.  
>You felt so good in it; no bigger than a minute.<br>How it amazes me you're changin' with every blink.  
>Faster than a flower blooms, they grow up all too soon"<p>

-Billy Dean

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_Ginny was on her way to take Albus up to his crib when she tripped over one of James' toys for what felt like the millionth time that day. She tried to regain her balance without jostling Albus; and failed. He began wailing and she could hear James cackling from his seat on the couch. Someone would have to let her know why her misery was so hilarious to him._

"_James honey, what have I told you about leaving your things on the floor!" she said frustrated. Albus was still crying; it was a phase he was in right now. "Teddy!" she called out. She continued bouncing Albus up and down and watched as Teddy stomped down the stairs moodily._

"_What?" he spat. Clearly everyone was in a phase right now._

"_Watch your tone Teddy Remus; I need you to watch James while I try to get Harry on the phone." Harry's voice was the only thing that made Albus stop crying and since Harry was off at work most of the time, they had gotten cell phones for times like these._

"_Fine." Teddy huffed. He began picking up toys while she simultaneously rocked Albus and dialed Harry. He picked up on the first ring and Ginny could have cried herself from hearing her favorite voice in the world._

"_Harry, it's Albus! He's crying again, and I can't get him to stop. Help me please?" she said._

"_Sure Gin," he answered, "put him on."_

"_Al honey, its daddy," she cooed softly before holding the phone up to his ear. She walked back and forth and could already see Al calming down a little. She looked back at Teddy and saw that he had placed all of the toys in a bucket in the corner of the room. Albus' cries soon turned to laughter and she was about to do a happy dance until-_

"_No James!" she heard Teddy scream, before hearing hundreds of toys scattering on the floor. James had knocked over the bin of toys and began throwing them everywhere. He laughed happily as a stuffed hippogriff hit Teddy on the head, and she stormed out of the room._

"_James, stop it!" she screamed, startling Albus and making him cry again and dropping the phone on her toe._

"_No stop! James play!" he screamed while he began kicking at the toys. She had had it. She carried Albus up the stairs to her room and laid him in his crib. He was crying so loudly that she feared he might hurt himself. She walked into the bathroom and closed the door before lying down on the cold tile floor. She took a few steadying breaths as she could hear James throwing toys and Albus crying. Ginny couldn't hear Teddy, but that wasn't comforting; there was no telling what he may be up to. A drop of water rolled down her cheek and she looked at the ceiling to see if there was a leak. She couldn't see anything falling but could feel water and her vision was blurry. Was she crying? They had finally broken her; she couldn't take care of her kids alone. She closed her eyes and tried to regain control. She dialed Harry but he didn't pick up. She laid there for hours it seemed, and the silence was so comforting she could have drifted to sleep right there. Wait, silence? It was so uncommon in their house that she hardly recognized it. She'd really done it now. All of her children were dead; there could be no other explanation for their being "silence" in their house._

_She pulled herself off of the bathroom floor and rushed out, but stopped herself when she looked across the room. Teddy was sitting in the rocking chair with James, but leaning his head on the crib so he was face to face with Albus. Ginny backed into the bathroom and cracked the door so she wouldn't interrupt their moment. Teddy was speaking to the boys and Ginny listened._

"_I know you're too little to get it, but we need to talk." He started, "You guys have got to lighten up on your mum."_

"_Mama?" Albus gurgled_

"_Yes. You guys are lucky because you have a mum, but you're driving her nuts. I don't have a mum with me so I can't be sure, but I think you guys have the best mum in the whole world. Albus, could you please, please not cry unless it's absolutely important? I know you are little but I need you to just try ok?" he asked. Albus giggled adorably and started kicking his tiny legs in excitement. "I'll take that as a yes. And James, could you pretty please…um well, could you just behave?" he asked practically begged._

"_Buh-have?" James asked as if he had never heard the word before._

"_Yes. Just pick up your toys, and stop throwing and kicking and do what your mum asks? It would make her really really happy!" he reasoned. James scrunched up his nose as if he was weighing options before giggling and nodding._

"_Ok Teddy, James behave."_

_Ginny watched tearfully as her three boys drifted to sleep. She didn't take advantage of this situation and snapped a picture with her camera before snuggling into her bed; she wouldn't trade being a mother for anything in the world.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Ginny saw the train coming and was pulled out of her thoughts. He was home. The platform filled with kids eager to reunite with their families. She didn't see Teddy, but knew he was close by, because Lily ran off into the crowd. A few seconds later Teddy reappeared carrying an ecstatic looking Lily.<p>

"Mum!" he called. She loved it when he called her mum, "Look at this adorable thing I found wandering on the platform! Can we keep it mum? Please?" He joked.

'Teddy!" Lily screamed, "it's me Lillian!" Ginny rolled her eyes; her name was not Lillian.

"Lily? That can't be you, the Lily I know is just a little girl, and you're a big girl!" he said. He placed her down before hugging James and Albus. "And how are you two doing?" he asked.

"Better now that you're here" James replied. "I can't take those two; they'll drive guy nuts!"

"Look who's talking" Teddy said shaking his head. "The girls were right behind me but only Merlin knows what's happened to them now. Where's dad?"

"Oh, he's just wrapping up a few things at the office; he'll meet us at home." She replied. She prayed that she could keep up the charade and that Lily or James wouldn't say that their dad was actually at home preparing things for the surprise party. "Well, let's be off then." She said. She picked up Lily and linked arms with Albus and apparated to Potter Manor, and a few seconds later Teddy appeared with James. They walked to the front door of the house and Ginny turned the key. She really hoped everything was ready. She motioned for Teddy to go in first and he turned the lights on.

"SURPRISE!" the family yelled loudly. Teddy was scared for a second before a look of realization crept across his face. He was attacked by the family with hugs and kisses and congratulations and gifts. All of the adults wanted to know how his last year was and all the kids wanted to know when he would play or talk with them. The party went on till around midnight when everyone started settling down. Most of the family had gone home, and Ginny, Teddy, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Victoire were in the sitting room exchanging stories with each other. Ginny couldn't explain what she felt when they were together, happy like this. Her Teddy was back; she had missed him so much and now he was all grown up. She decided to pay attention so she wouldn't start tearing up in front of everyone.

"So Teddy, what exactly are you planning to do now that you've graduated?" Hermione asked. He looked at Harry who gave him a supportive pat on the back.

"Well I was accepted into the Young Educator's program at the Salem Wizarding Institute in America, so I'm going to do their one-year program and then return to Hogwarts to teach." He said proudly.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Hermione exclaimed. _How so?_

"America? I thought you were going into Auror training next year?" Ron asked confused.

"Well I was, and I'm very grateful to dad for the offer but, we talked about it and neither of us thinks I'm cut out to be an Auror really. I mean, could you see me doing that?"

"But America? Teddy that's like thousands of miles away! You can't go away for a year, that's ridiculous!" Ginny said getting angry.

"I've been going away to Hogwarts for the past 7 years. Is that not the same thing?" he challenged. "I know it's far but in hindsight it's really only a floo or apparition away. Plus its school, I'll get holidays off and everything."

Ginny looked around the room to see if there was anyone hearing how crazy this was. Ron was tapping his foot awkwardly, Harry had suddenly become very interested in his glass of fire whiskey, and Victoire and Hermione were nervously looking at the floor. Could she seriously be the only one that disagreed with this?

"No." she stated in a final tone. "You won't be going."

"Gin-"Harry started but was cut off.

"What?" Teddy asked "I mean, I think I heard you but I want to be sure I heard what I think heard." He said. She could see he was getting angry, but she went on.

"You will not be going to America." She said slowly and clearly.

"The hell I won't!" Teddy screamed. "Have you gone completely mental? This is an amazing opportunity and you just expect me to not go. What did you think would happen? That I'd come running back here and let you plan out the rest of my life? Or did you just want me to come back and do nothing and cook and clean all day with you?"

"Teddy!" Vic gasped.

"You will not speak to me in that tone Teddy Remus and I've made my decision; no child of mine will be running off billions of miles away and that's final!"

"Well then I guess it's a good thing that you're not my mother, then Ginny. Because I'm going and THAT is final!" he stormed out of the room and slammed the door. No one dared speak and Ginny herself couldn't even register what had just happened. What had she done? Victoire ran after Teddy and Ron stood up, clearly uncomfortable.

"Well, I think its best we go," he said. "I'll just go get the kids."

"Ginny" Harry said softly, "What is going on?"

"I really don't know Harry, something just snapped! I wasn't trying to upset him but I really can't imagine him being so far away. I love him so much!" she said. Harry began rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"I know, and he knows how much you love him too, but you can't hold on to them forever. Kids grow up; it's a part of life. Teddy is of age now and he's free to make whatever choices he wants." He said.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I'll like it."

"And you don't have to like it, but you owe it to him to give him support; that's all he really needs. Teddy turned out to be such a great man because you helped raise him, but it's time for him to control his life."

"I'll remind you of that in 15 years when some prat is asking you if they can marry Lily." She said.

"I know you will." He said before kissing her.

"How is it that you know everything? Don't you ever get sick of being the hero? "She joked.

"Nope, that's one of the perks of being Harry Potter." He said with a smile. "Now I think there's someone you need to apologize to."

She sighed headed towards the door Teddy went out of. She walked out to the back yard and made her way down to the lake where he was skipping rocks with Victoire. Stopping at a nearby tree she leaned against it and watched for about five minutes, and for the first time he didn't look like a little boy to her; he looked like a man.

"Vic, can I have a word with Teddy?"

"Sure" Vic kissed Teddy on the cheek and turned to walk back inside the house.

"Did you come here to forbid me from skipping rocks?" he asked sarcastically. She walked up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"No, I came to apologize."

"For?" he asked.

"For everything; saying you couldn't go, not supporting your dream, acting like a complete prat. Should I go on?"

"No" he said with a laugh, "I want to apologize too. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that; it was out of line."

"You had every right to. I was being unreasonable, but I had a talk with Harry and he reminded me that you're old enough to make your own decisions. And I love you more than anything, so any decision that makes you happy makes me happy. I know I'm not your birth mother but I've always thought of you as one of my own; it was just hard for me to think of you going off on your own and being an adult." She said.

"Thank you. And, you may not be my birth mother but you are my mother in every sense of the term. If it wasn't for you and Harry I wouldn't be a part of this family, you've taught me so much about love and family when I had none; I'll be forever grateful to guys."

Ginny could barely hold back her tears. Teddy had gotten so wise and mature and she was extremely proud of him. "When did you get so grown up?" she said.

"I don't even really know." He replied, "But I do know that even when I'm old and married with kids I'll still be coming to you for advice."

"That's if James lets me live to see those days." She joked. "You're going to make an amazing teacher."

"You think so?"

"I know so. That's just one of the perks of being Harry Potter's wife; I know everything."

She gave him a long hug and they walked back to the house together. When Ginny sat on the couch in the sitting room, one of the picture frames fell on the floor. She went to pick it up and when she turned it over she saw a picture of Teddy, James and Albus. They were in her room what had to be about ten years ago and Teddy was silently speaking to the boys. She looked at the picture long and hard before placing back on the table; they all grow up too soon.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Aww, don't you just love those parent/child moments? Tell me what you think!  
>-Jazz<strong>


	9. Summer Means Fun

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter...blah blah blah, rub it in.**

"Everybody grab you baggies and bikinis  
>'Cause it's only just begun<br>We're gonna have a ball until the fall now  
>'Cause summer means fun"<p>

-Bruce &Terry

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_Every summer, the Weasley/Potter clan took a family vacation during the first week of the summer. It was a reward to all the kids for doing well in school as well as a way for all of them to get together at least once, since each family liked to do their own things during the summer. The entire family was currently packed into the kitchen at the Burrow, and Harry was about to tell everyone where they were going this year; but he thought he could have a little fun with it._

"_Settle down everyone!" he yelled "I have an announcement to make." Everyone ended their side conversations and gave him their full attention. Everyone was wearing equally anxious expressions and Lily was literally bouncing._

"_Daddy, tell us!" she pleaded. He sighed dramatically and rubbed his head._

"_Alright, alright. I know you all are wondering where we're going to be spending the next week, and I won't hold it in any longer. We're going to be spending one full week…here!" Harry used all his strength not to laugh. Everyone's faces were a mix of confusion and shock._

"_Yay!" Lily screamed. James quickly put his hand over her mouth before turning on him._

"_Seriously, we're taking vacation here in the house we come to every Sunday?" he asked_

"_Yes, it will be brilliant!" Harry continued, "We could set up tents and camp in the backyard, maybe play a few pick-up games of Quidditch; and the best part is that we wouldn't have to pack! What do you guys say?" He looked around the room, surveying everyone's reactions. Most of them seemed to be thinking up ways to get out of their annual trip. Victoire and Molly looked flat out disgusted and Ginny looked... livid? Ok, time to wrap this up. "You all don't look to happy." He said._

"_We might as well not even call it a vacation." James said_

"_Yeah, we could do this anytime really." Ron added._

"_Well if no one wants to go on vacation anymore, then I guess I don't need these new sunglasses I bought." He chimed._

"_Why would you need sunglasses?" Rose asked_

"_I heard they would come in handy in The Bahamas." He said shrugging. He couldn't hold back any longer and gave the whole family a huge smile. "We're going to The Bahamas!" he shouted. After that everyone burst into a chorus of cheers and celebrating, even though he knew half of them had no clue what that was._

"_Thank you Uncle Harry, this is going to be amazing!" Roxanne squealed. She ran to hug him and everyone followed suit. _

"_You're all very welcome, you deserve it. Now everyone go get packed!" They all filed out of the room and Harry smiled to himself; this was going to be a good one.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Roxy was very excited about their trip to The Bahamas. She and Rose were the only kids that actually knew where that was, so she could fully appreciate the surprise. She was looking forward to the clear-blue water on the beaches, and the sun, and all the crazy things they would do while they were there. The morning when they left had been hectic to say the least. They were all rushing and packing last minute things, and they almost missed the port key by 5 seconds. When they arrived at their destination Molly had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. The house they would be staying in was beautiful; It looked like it had pulled straight from one of the travel books she'd read.<p>

It was a huge, white house with what looked like a million windows and the front door was very elegant but looked inviting at the same time. Once they walked inside there was a chorus of ooh's and ah's from the family. There was a grand piano in the corner of the room that Roxy felt badly for, because knowing her cousins it would probably have to be repaired more than once over the course of their stay there. They all continued exploring until they got up the stairs where the bedrooms were.

"Alright everyone" her Uncle Harry said. "We're getting to the living quarters and before you go crazy fighting over rooms, listen to these instructions. There's 10 bedrooms total; five on this floor and five on the one above. All the adult couples get their own rooms on this floor and you kids will be splitting up upstairs. I don't care who sleeps where, but if there's arguing I'll rearrange you all myself. Teddy gets his own bedroom unless he'd rather share, and the rest of you can choose who you'd like to stay with. Any questions?" No one spoke and she guessed it was because everyone was anxious to pick their rooms. "Last thing; although we technically _can_ fix anything magically, we would really prefer not to have to. That being said, have a good time!"They all ran towards the next set of stairs so they could get to the top floor.

"I want my own room!" Teddy shouted.

"I want to be with Lillian!" Lucy yelled.

"Over here Lucille!" she replied. Roxy laughed at how silly they were. They had started calling each other Lillian and Lucille after Fred called them babies; because apparently having a longer name makes you older.

Roxy was ahead of everyone and ran all the way to the end of the hall where she found the perfect room for her. "Molly! I found a room!" she shouted down the hall. Molly ran in soon after and gasped in excitement.

"Perfect! Vic, we got one!" Molly shouted into the hallway. She ran in a few seconds later and jumped up and down when she saw where they'd be staying.

It was a large room with hardwood floors and black and white theme. There were four large beds with a big fluffy white comforter and black and white pillows, and a mirror hanging over each bed. They had a vanity and a walk-in closet, and there was a balcony that was facing the beach. Roxy walked out onto the balcony and took in the sight of the island. This was going to be one of the best weeks ever!

* * *

><p>It was the third day of their vacation, and Victoire was lying in the beach listening to Molly gush about her new relationship. She'd been going on and on for hours and honestly Vic had stopped listening a while ago. All she could think about was Teddy and the fact that he'd be leaving for America next year.<p>

"Well Vic, what do you think?" Molly asked. Victoire had no idea what she had been saying so she just said something she had been thinking for a while.

"Don't you think you guys are moving a bit fast?" she asked.

"Uhhh, No. _We _are moving at a normal pace. Don't _you_ think you and Teddy are moving a bit slowly?" she asked. Victoire was not going to dignify that with a response. "You guys have been together for weeks now and…" she trailed of, obviously prying for details.

"And nothing Molly; I told you, we're not together." She responded regretfully.

"I don't see why not. Oh yeah, because of 'timing' you say. If you ask me-"

"I didn't."

"I think that's ridiculous. You guys 'promised' yourselves to each other but aren't ready to be together; I just don't get it." Vic didn't really get it either, but it made sense at the time. She had just gotten out of a relationship and was lying in bed with another guy the next morning. You could say her judgment was a bit off in those days.

"It's more complicated than that," _Wasn't it? _"There are other factors to consider. Do you think Teddy would be going to America if we were together? I don't want to hold him back."

"Oh come off it, Vic! You can't seriously be telling me you want him to go?"

"Of course I don't want him to go, but I also don't want to be the reason he stays behind. He'd regret it forever and I can't have that on my conscience." She answered.

"If you say so; though I know you're lying, because you didn't even know about America when you made your little pinky swear." That was true. Vic had only found out an hour or so before her Aunt Ginny. "So are you going to tell me what the real problem is?"

"Fine. The truth is I'm scared." She confessed.

"Of what? You guys are perfect for each other."

"That's the problem! Everyone always says how perfect we are and they're giving our relationship such high standards to live up to before we're even _in _the relationship. What if we get together and it's not as great as we thought it would be. What if we don't even like each other?" It felt great to say out loud the things she'd been thinking.

"Do you love him?"

"Yes, more than anything; you know that."

"Then there's your answer. It's not about what everyone else thinks and says; it's about how you feel. You guys love each other, and that's all you need to worry about. He's going to go to America, you guys will take it day by day, you'll get through it, graduate, get married and produce extremely genetically blessed children." She blabbed. The world had turned upside down; Molly Weasley had just given good advice.

"Molly, when did you get so…smart?" she joked

"Well, dating an older man has its perks." She said wiggling her eyebrows. "Now let's quit the boy talk and relax."

"I can do that. " Victoire said. She felt way better now that she had talked to someone about how she had been feeling. She leaned back on her towel ready to enjoy tanning when she was all of a sudden covered in ice cold water. She heard Molly shriek and figured they had gotten her too. She heard a high fiving noise and a goofy laugh that she recognized all too well. She turned around to see James and her sister running away carrying buckets. "You better run Dominique!" she screamed before grabbing Molly's hand and running towards those criminals. This was going to be a very interesting summer.

* * *

><p>Louis, like any other child, loved birthdays. However, he didn't love <em>his <em>birthday, because something always went wrong. He would blame it on fate, but he knew the exact reason why his birthdays always got ruined. Two words: Dominique Weasley. His sister was a menace to society and she had a sick obsession with destroying his birthdays. Blowing up the cake, locking him in the bathroom during his own party, and opening his presents were just a few of her stunts. This year his birthday fell during the same week they were in the Bahamas, and even though he insisted he didn't want to do anything, James and Dom had begged to throw him a small celebration. Nothing good came of anything that had their names on it, and Louis had no reason to think this would be any different.

He woke up completely prepared for a terrible birthday. He walked down the stairs to the kitchen where he saw his sisters arguing. _Perfect. _Victoire saw him first and completely ignored Dominique's yelling. Vic was his favorite sister- by default. She was too girly and perfect for his taste, but Dominique was absolutely crazy, so Victoire won that battle.

"Happy birthday Louis!" she gushed before picking him up and kissing him everywhere. "I can't believe you're 9, how did you get so big so fast?"

"I don't know." He answered. How should he know? He had only barely gotten out of third grade.

"I just can't believe it! Oh, I'll give you your present later." she patted him on the head before turning on Dom, "Don't you have something to say to your little brother?" she asked in a bossy tone.

"Even better!" she answered. "I got him something." she said before walking towards him with a smile on her face. He didn't know what to expect so he just thanked his lucky stars that she was going to get this over with first thing in the morning with no one around. She handed him an envelope and he looked at it skeptically and when she began to raise her arms he flinched instinctively. He was waiting for her to hit or pinch him, but she gave him a hug instead. "Happy Birthday Lou!" she said in a sweet voice.

Louis didn't know if he should hug her back, but before he could decide she was taking her arms from around him. She looked at him expectantly and he realized she was waiting for him to open her gift. He slowly began to open the envelope, expecting the worst. There was a hand-made card inside and he pulled in out. When he opened it there was no explosion nor was he injured, but something had fallen on the ground. He picked it up and was completely surprised by what he saw; it was a limited edition Puddlemere United collector's card signed by Oliver Wood himself.

"Wicked! Thanks Dom! How did you get this?" he asked, even though he really didn't want to know in case she'd stolen it or something.

"I know people." She said with a wave of her hand. "Only the best for my _favorite _sibling." He didn't know where this was coming from, but he wasn't going to question it; but he wasn't going to let his guard all the way down either. He ran to go show Hugo what Dominique had given him, and was shocked to say the rest of the day went by smoothly. They played soccer on the beach, swam, and relaxed the entire day; it had been a great day.

He was resting on the bed in the room he shared with Albus and Hugo when his dad knocked on the door. "Louis! It's time for your birthday dinner!" he called. Louis ran to the kitchen in excitement; after the great day he'd had, he completely forgot about his party. He walked out to the sitting area and had to look around to make sure he was still at the resort. There was a table stacked with presents, a huge cake, plenty of food and music playing. He looked around where he saw his whole family there waiting for him; the sight made him want to dance, because in this family you hardly ever got everyone's undivided sat down at the head of the table where the cake was and waited for them to sing Happy Birthday.

"Wait!" Dom shouted suddenly. She ran off quickly and came back holding two handfuls of balloons. "You can't have a party without balloons." She stated. He wasn't sure what had gotten into her but he hoped it would last; maybe they could even learn to be friends. "This one's especially for you!" she said, tying the largest one to his chair. Dom sat down next to him and began the song.

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Louis, Happy Birthday to-"

_Pop!_

The balloon Dom had gotten for him burst, and water fell out of it splashing on him, the cake, and everyone near him. The entire table was silent; except for Dominique of course, who was laughing her butt off. When he looked around the table he caught James' eye, who winked at him and pointed under his chair. Louis discretely tapped the bottom of his chair and felt one of the muggle water guns his Grandfather showed them how to use. He looked back at James who gave a slight nod, then he aimed and shot right at Dominique. He held down the trigger until there was hardly any water left and Dom was soaked, wearing a shocked look on her face.

He would have felt bad for what he had done, but the sight of his sister right now was hilarious. There was water everywhere, and everyone was staring at Dom as if they were afraid she might try to kill him. Louis caved and started laughing harder than he had every laughed at anything his whole life. It only took a few seconds for James to join in and Dominique began laughing as well. Lily was clearly amused because she began laughing too and in no time the whole family was doubling over in fits of laughter.

Louis aimed the water gun at James, drenching him with the rest of the water. He then reached under his chair and fired right back at Louis. Everyone began looking under their chairs and found that James had supplied them all with a water gun. In a matter of minutes they were having a full-on water fight and Louis was having a blast. They ran around and played for hours until they absolutely couldn't anymore. Everyone went to dry off and Louis caught up with James.

"Thanks mate!" he said happily, "That was brilliant."

"Don't mention it, I got your back! Happy birthday Lou!" he said before running back in the house.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

* * *

><p>It was the last night of their trip, and Teddy really didn't want it to end. This had to be one of the best trips they'd ever taken and the faster it ended, the sooner he'd be leaving for America. It wasn't that he didn't want to go, but he was rethinking the timing of it all. He hadn't expected Vic to be so happy about it, but she seemed to really support the idea. It was nice that she supported his dreams, but part of him had wished she would ask him to stay, just so he knew she wanted him to. He was lying in bed trying to sleep but was having a hard time because there was a thunderstorm causing quite a stir outside. He knew it was only a matter of time before there were a bunch of kids running to him asking if they could sleep with him. It was mystery as to why they always came to him; it wasn't like he could stop the storm.<p>

As soon as he said this there was a bit of thunder so loud that even he jumped a little. There was a knock on his door and he pretended to be asleep out of habit. The person opened the door and stood at the side of his bed before tapping him lightly on the shoulder. Teddy looked at them through one eye and saw that it was Al. He scooted over a little and another round of thunder caused Albus to practically jump on top of him. "Al!"

"Sorry." He heard quick footsteps coming down the hallway and a few seconds later two more people had jumped on the bed. Teddy looked over and saw that Lily and Lucy had joined them. He moved away from Al a little and let the girls crawl between them.

"Teddy?" Lily asked

"Hmm?"

"I have to potty." Teddy grunted in response, she could take herself. "Teddyyyyy" she whined.

He knew she wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted, so he got up quickly slinging Lily over his shoulder, and carried her to the bathroom. They walked in and Teddy turned around to give her whatever privacy a 7 year old needed. While she was washing her hands there was a flash of lightning so bright that it looked like someone had turned on the lights. He knew what was coming next and picked Lily up before the thunder could sound. He heard a parade of footsteps while they were walking back and he could only image who had invaded his room now. He opened the door and saw that Rose, Hugo, Louis and Dominique had joined Al and Lucy. He squeezed himself onto the bed, praying that all the scaredy cats were here, and no one else would be joining them; the bed was only so big after all. Of course there was bickering going on about who was on whom and who needed to move over.

"Be quiet." He yelled, and everyone ending their talking quickly. There were a few minutes of silence followed by thunder, which made most of them scream. This was going to be a long night.

There was another knock on the door and James and Fred appeared in the doorway.

"What's all this yelling about?" James asked. But the lightning that flashed next was as good enough an answer as any, and they ran and jumped on the bed too. The bed was way too cramped now; didn't they know 10 is a crowd?

"I can't sleep." Dominique complained. "This weather is way too scary."

"Well try." Teddy responded. They would not sucker him into reading or talking to them tonight; he was going to sleep. No one could lie still for more than a few minutes, and the continuous thunder kept them jumping up and even screaming every now and then.

"It's not working." Rose said.

"Maybe some hot chocolate would help?" Dominique asked. This earned her cheers and whoops from some of the kids and Teddy had to shush them quickly.

"No. you all need to sleep."

"But Teddy-" Rose started.

"Sleep!" he ordered. Merlin they could be annoying. He heard Dominique whispering to someone but he didn't care what they were planning; he wasn't going to get up and make them hot chocolate. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and when he turned around he was staring at Lily.

"Teddy can you please make us hot chocolate?" she asked sweetly. He shook his head; he would not give in. "Please! Just this one time before you go to America?" That was low. He turned around completely to see that they were all staring at him with equally pathetic puppy dog faces. They were ruthless. He got up quickly and headed towards the door before turning around.

"Are you guys coming or not?" he asked. They all rushed out of the bed abandoning the sad act, and ran past him to the kitchen; they were such little demons. He made his way to the stairs but had to make a stop first. He knocked on the door of the room that Vic, Molly and Roxy were sharing. He heard whispers from inside and was relieved that he wouldn't have to wake them. He walked in and saw Vic and Roxy sitting on the bed chatting.

"Teddy! Why are you up so late?" Vic asked.

"Well the kids are afraid of the storm and want me to make them hot chocolate so they can sleep."

"Do you even know how to make hot chocolate?" she asked.

"Of course I don't, that's why I'm here. Care to help me?" The girls nodded and started to leave and Teddy noticed something was off.

"Where's Molly?" he asked curiously. The girls looked at each other quickly before answering.

"She's in the bathroom, been in there for hours." Roxy said. "Probably looking at herself in the mirror." He had just come out of the bathroom with Lily a while ago; maybe she was in another one. They went downstairs and Vic quickly made and passed out the hot chocolate to everyone. She was amazing; he didn't know what he would do without her. They all sat around drinking and talking and Teddy couldn't help but smile at the feeling of family surrounding him.

At that moment Molly came waltzing down the stairs. "You guys weren't going to invite me to your little party?" she asked playfully. He was going to, but she wasn't there.

"Where've you just come from?" he asked.

"I was in our room" she said pointing to Roxy who quickly shook her head. "before." She added. "Yeah, I _was _in our room but then I left to go to the loo. Is there any hot chocolate for me?" she asked quickly changing the subject. Vic passed her a mug and she threw herself onto the couch, with a little water flying on Teddy.

"Why's your hair wet?" Lucy asked.

"Why are you all asking so many questions?" she snapped back, "It's wet because I wet it." She was clearly hiding something, and Teddy would bet anything it had to do with Chase Finnegan. He decided it wasn't' any of his business and she'd clearly told Vic where she was so he would let it be.

"Hey! The storm stopped!" Fred shouted.

"I told you hot chocolate was a good idea!" Dom said sticking her tongue out at him.

"Well, then I guess it's time to go to sleep!" he said making an effort to get up. There was a chorus of protests from everyone including Victoire.

"Just a few more minutes!" Albus said.

"Fine." Teddy grumbled. Everyone settled down clearly happy that he was letting them stay up. They'd regret it in the morning when they had to get up and leave, but he didn't want to spoil their fun. One by one everybody slowly drifted off to sleep until only he and Victoire were awake.

"This trip has been amazing!" she said sleepily.

"You're amazing." He responded. He held her closely and they stayed silent for a while.

"I don't want the summer to end. When it's over we'll-

"Shh."He really was too tired to have this discussion right now; he couldn't stand seeing her upset. "When it's over it's over, but that doesn't mean we'll be over. We'll take it day by day, nothing is going to change." He waited for her response but heard nothing; had he said something wrong? "Vic?"

His only response was her light snoring. He kissed her on the forehead before l down and letting himself drift to sleep With Vic in his arms he fell asleep easily; his summer was already proving to be one he'd remember for the rest of his life.


	10. That's What Friends Are For

"Keep smilin', Keep shinin'  
>Knowin' you can always count on me for sure<br>That's what friends are for  
>In good times and bad times<br>I'll be on your side forever more  
>That's what friends are for"<p>

-Stevie Wonder

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_Rose loved the summertime for many reasons-the main reason being that she didn't have to go to school. Their parents wanted them to have a 'normal' childhood experience, so she and her cousins went to a muggle Elementary School, up until it was time for them to go to Hogwarts. Next year she and Albus would be going to the 5__th__ grade, and she had never looked forward to anything less. It wasn't that she hated school particularly-she loved learning-but she didn't like the fact that she didn't have any friends. Albus was, and always would be her very best friend, but they were more like twins, so that didn't really count. Rose didn't have any friends of her own to play with, and that had made the past few years of school pretty tough._

_Her mother had instructed her to try to find kids that shared her same interests; but that hadn't been easy. It was simple for Albus to find the Science Club, and for James to become the Class Clown, or for Hugo and Louis to join the Soccer team, or for Lucy to be in the school plays, or for Fred to run for 5__th__grade President. Lily and Dominique weren't really that involved, but those two could grab the attention of a rock without even trying with their personalities. But for Rose, it wasn't easy. There were no other 10 years olds that enjoyed reading like she did and her Muggle classmates didn't know anything about Quidditch, so she couldn't see how she'd make any friends._

_At first the other kids would make fun of her for being so weird, but after a year or two they just ignored her. Rose couldn't which one made her feel worse. She could only hope that someday things would be different; much different.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Rose woke up in the big bed she and Hugo shared when they visited her grandparents on her Mother's side of the family. Every year they came here for a week in the summer, and every year it was always extremely boring. She normally just packed a bunch of books so she could do what she did best. On the first day of their trip she got up and got dressed so she could start her day. She'd been informed by her Grandmother last night that she was no longer allowed to read books in the house all day. She walked to the park where all of the other kids in the neighborhood played and sat down on nearby bench. She tied up her hair so it wouldn't fall in her face and pulled out her book-they didn't say she couldn't read outside of the house.<p>

While she was reading she heard the laughter of the other the kids that were enjoying themselves on the playground. She peered over her book longingly and watched as kids were swinging, laughing, playing tag, and all wearing huge smiles. She saw a little boy with silvery-blonde hair climbing down from tree effortlessly; she would never be brave enough to do something like that. She went back to her reading, but she could hear a voice coming from the distance. She tried to ignore the sound but it only got closer and closer. "Excuse me" she heard the voice say for the 20th time. She looked at the bench behind her impatiently; whoever's attention it was that he wanted was being rather rude. However, when she turned around she didn't see anyone, but he couldn't have been talking about her. "Excuse me." He repeated.

"Me?" she asked.

"No, the other girl sitting on the bench reading" he said with a smile.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry." Darn, she really had been hoping he'd wanted to talk to her. The little boy started laughing and it made her feel confused, she hadn't even made a joke. "What are you laughing at?" she asked

"You. You're funny." _Funny? _Rose had been laughed at before, but never for being funny. She went back to reading, figuring he would leave her alone, but instead he grabbed the book and examined the cover.

"Sense and Sensibility" he read. "This book is awful, why are you reading it?" he said dismissively.

"If it's so awful, why did you read it? And I'm here because my grandmother hates when I'm cooped up in the house reading. She told me to get some fresh air, so I decided to read here."

"I didn't know it was awful until after the fact, obviously, but I mean why are you reading here? At the park? Wouldn't you rather be playing with everyone else?" he asked

"Well I don't know any of these people, I don't even know you."

"Well I didn't know any of these people either before today. That's why you come to the park; to make friends." He said that as if it was so simple.

"I'm not very good at making friends. I don't have any friends really." She admitted sadly.

"Well we're friends." He said as if she should've known that.

"We are? We don't even know each other" she said.

"My name's Shane. And you are?" She wasn't sure if she should give him her real name or not. Her parents wouldn't tell her why, but saying her name usually brought out the strangest reactions in people. They would hug her and thank her and sometimes cry; once someone had even asked for her autograph. She decided it would be better to just make something up.

"I'm uh…Rosalina. Rosalina Wilmington." _Rosalina? I might as well have said Rose._

"Well now we know each other and we're friends." Rose smiled happily. That wasn't hard at all. She couldn't believe she had made her first real friend! "Are you from here?" he asked.

"No, I'm just visiting my grandparents for a short time during summer. Are you from here?"

"No, I from a very _different _place, you wouldn't even believe it." _Really? Because my parents do magic. _"I take lessons from my grandfather and he can be a bit intense, so my mum lets me come here every once and a while to have fun."

"You don't go to school?" she asked. That was hard to believe; he seemed so smart.

"Nope, I'm home-schooled. But I will be starting at an actual school in about a year. Are you in school?"

"Yeah, I'll be going to 5th grade next year, and after that I'll be going to…um, boarding school." It was kind of the same thing.

"Cool. Well, I should probably be heading home now. Will you come back tomorrow?"

"Sure." She said happily.

"Great. I'll see you then, and I'll bring you a book that's actually worth reading." He joked. "And maybe we could actually play."

"I don't know, play on the playground? It seems a bit far-fetched to me." She teased. He laughed and shook his head.

"I'll take that as a yes." He gave her a hug and sauntered away. "Seeya later Rosalina!"

"See you." She said with a wave.

For the rest of the week she met up with Shane at the park; exchanging books, reading, talking, playing, and exploring. She noticed that he brought out an adventurous side of her, and she could joke around with him easily. He really was a great friend, and during the time they spent together she had learned a lot about him. Tomorrow was the last day they would be able to spend in the park together and she was planning on telling him the truth about her because he at least deserved that much; he'd been nothing short of honest with her.

She walked to the park the next morning and searched all over for Shane, but couldn't find him in any of the usual places. "Up here, Rosalina!" he called. Boy would she be glad when he could stop calling her that awful name. She looked up to see that he was sitting in the tree she saw him climbing the first day they met. "Climb on up!"

"I can't climb that, I'll break my neck." She shouted.

"Only if you fall, and you know I'd never let you fall, so there's no problem." He said. "I'll even come down a bit." He agilely descended to a more reasonable height on the tree and patted the spot next to him in an invitation. There was a brief inner battle between her logical side and fun side, and apparently the fun side won, because she was climbing before she had even fully comprehended her decision. She kept going at a steady pace until she had reached the branch he was sitting on. "That was brilliant!" he praised.

"I can't believe I just did that!" she said before she started laughing. And boy did she laugh hard; the pure joy emanating from her was overpowering and eventually Shane was laughing too. They laughed for what felt like hours and Rose thought she would never catch her breath. "This is amazing. I really can't believe I did that."

"I can. You're full of surprises Rosalina." She couldn't think of a better time to tell him. It was now or never.

"Speaking of surprises, there's something I need to tell you." She said.

"What is it?" he asked

"Well I'm not exactly sure how to explain but I guess the easiest way is just to say that I…well, I'm a-"

"Grandfather." He finished in hollow voice.

"What? No, how could I be a grandfather." This was clearly going to take longer than she thought. He only shook his head silently.

"No, it's _my _Grandfather." He scaled down the tree quickly and she was losing her breath trying to keep up.

"Shane, wait!" she called. At her words his Grandfather turned around with one of the meanest faces she had ever seen, and it stopped her dead in her tracks. Shane looked torn between running away and going to the man; but one quick snap of his fingers and the decision was made. When he reached his grandfather he hung his head down shamefully and she felt really bad for him; this man was awful.

"So this is where you've been coming after our lessons?" the man asked in a surprisingly calm voice. Shane only nodded.

"Well we'll just have to have a discussion about that when we get home won't we?" From the way the man spoke there didn't sound like it would be that much talking going on. "I should've known your mother had gone soft." He sneered before walking away, "Come, boy!"

"Goodbye Shane." She said softly. His grandfather turned around and looked at her icily for a few seconds before raising an eyebrow in shock. _What was that? _He turned around quickly dragging her friend along, and as fast as Shane had come into her life he had been taken away. This must be what her older cousins meant about life not being fair.

She didn't know when or how, but one day she would find Shane and rescue him from that awful man. It would probably take her forever, but she'd do it for him. Because that's what friends were for.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Soo cute that Rose wants to defend her new friend. Let the search begin! Review and tell me what you think!  
>-Jazz<strong>


	11. Should Have Seen It Coming

**Disclaimer: Je n'ai pas ecrit Hary Potter. Je ne possede pas Harry Potter. Merci!**

"She was in the backyard, say it was a little past nine  
>When her prince pulled up, a white pickup truck<br>Her folks should of seen it comin' it was only just a matter of time  
>Plenty old enough, and you can't stop love."<p>

-Sara Evans

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_Molly was happy. She had always been a happy person, but due to a certain incident at a Quidditch game last week, she had been especially happy lately. She was lying in the grass by the black lake waiting for Chase, and when she heard a set of footsteps she turned around with a huge smile on her face only to realize it was Teddy._

"_Oh, it's just you." Not that she didn't want to see Teddy but she really wanted see Chase._

"_Just me? Don't you mean Teddy Lupin, Captain of the Quidditch Cups Champion team?" he said cockily._

"_It's so nice to see that the victory hasn't gone to your head." She said_

"_I'm kidding. Besides, you and Finnegan kind of stole my thunder didn't you?" he asked; she did not like where this conversation was headed._

"_Yeah, sorry about that." She said, blushing._

"_You should be. I couldn't even be properly congratulated by the family because everyone was so busy trying to calm Ron down." He said half-joking. She should have guessed he'd be upset; aside from his own children, Molly was his favorite. _

"_Oh crap, you don't think he'd tell my dad do you?" she asked getting worried._

"_Not on purpose." he said. "So you haven't told Percy?" he asked._

"_Absolutely not. Why would I do that?" _

"_Because even though I rather you didn't, you will probably be with him for a while, and your dad's not stupid. He will find out eventually and when he does, he won't appreciate having been lied to. Sneaking around is fun at first, but if you ever want to get serious, you have to be serious; and that means telling everyone." He said. She couldn't argue with that. Gosh she hated having smart friends._

"_Fine, I will tell him." She decided. "But not yet, I don't want to be grounded before summer even starts."_

"_Great. I guess my good deed for the day is done, then." He said while getting up._

"_Wait, that's it? No lecture about being too young or how boys only want one thing?" she asked. Usually by now the poor boy would've said he couldn't see her because Teddy had threatened him so badly._

"_Can't a guy grow up?" he asked jokingly. "Unless of course you want me to continue being an overprotective prat."_

"_No thanks." She said quickly. He laughed loudly and turned to leave, but she didn't want him to go just yet. "Teddy!" she shouted, running after him._

"_Yeah?" he asked. She threw her arms around him in a ridiculously childish bear hug._

"_I'll miss you"_

"_I'll miss you too, Molly" he said. They swayed in the hug for a few long seconds and she felt a tinge of sadness, but it vanished as she saw Chase coming her way. _

"_I hope you've got enough hugging in you left for me" he joked._

"_You're in luck; I happen to have a little more than a hug left for you." She said testing Teddy's new "grown up" attitude. Both boys blushed deeply and Molly couldn't help but laugh._

"_I guess I'll be going then." Teddy said as he started backing away slowly. "Oh and Molly?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Boys only want one thing!" he called. She threw a rock at him but he dodged it; stupid Quidditch reflexes. Chase laughed and enveloped her in a tight hug. They linked hands and began walking back towards the lake. When they got to a shaded spot they lay down in the grass and she cuddled into him._

"_He's right you know," Chase said, "There is only one thing that I want". She sat up nervously._

"_And what's that?" she asked timidly. _

"_You." He said. She kissed him and settled back down between his arms. She would tell her dad; Chase was definitely worth it.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Molly heard three taps on her window and quickly got out of bed. She tiptoed across the floor of her bedroom, carefully stepping over the creaky floor board near her desk, and slowly opened the window. She saw Chase waiting for her outside and quickly climbed on the back of his broom.<p>

"Ready?" he asked. She looked back at their house to make sure all of the lights were still off and no one had woken up. So what if she hadn't told her dad yet? She was going to-eventually.

"Ready." She held on tight around his waist as he sped off into the night. The feel of the summer air in her hair was calming, and she relaxed into him. Out of shopping, the big family vacation, and the times she spent lazing around the house, the best parts of her summer had been spent with Chase. Even though they had to sneak out to see each other it had been amazing. Chase slowed his broom and they slowly descended to the ground. When she got off of his broom he turned around and put his arms around her waist.

"Now I can greet you properly." He said with a smile. He leaned in to kiss her but she backed away with a smug smile. "You can't play hard to get, I've already got you." She cocked an eyebrow challengingly and slowly started to back away from him before breaking into a full sprint. She looked back to see if he had followed her, and he was a few steps behind. She pushed herself to go a little bit faster but knew it was a lost cause. She felt his hands close around her waist and he pulled them both down to the ground. He began tickling her and she gave in almost instantly.

"Ok ok! You got me!" The deadly tickling sensation had stopped and she slowly started to regain her breath. She lay next to him clutching her sides until she knew for sure he wouldn't tickle her again, and then rolled over so she was face to face with him. He wasted no time, and they snogged passionately until they were out of breath. He smiled at her and her heart skipped a beat like it always did.

"I can't believe this." She blurted before she could stop herself.

"Believe what?"

"This!" she said motioning to the space between them. "You and me, it's just unreal to me. You're so perfect and sweet and smart and everyone likes you and you could date absolutely ANY girl you ever wanted. I mean, any girl would be lucky to be with a guy like you and I'm just Molly. Big mouth, girly, spoiled Molly. It makes no sense for you to like-"

He silenced her rant with a kiss and she was grateful because she was starting to get annoyed with herself. He looked at her and shook his head. "Molly, I'm anything but perfect; no one is perfect. As cliché as it may sound, you are the only girl I've ever wanted; so I suppose I _can _have any girl I've ever wanted. And I'm lucky to be with someone as amazing as you; I feel like every bloke I know at Hogwarts fancied you at some point, and the fact that I'm sitting here with you like this now is absolutely unreal."

"But Chase-"

"And you…you aren't _just _anything, Molly. You're unfairly beautiful, and you're hilarious but you don't even know it. And yes, you talk a lot, but I could listen to you for hours if it meant spending more time with you. People may think you're spoiled, but if I could give you everything you ever asked for I would too; because you deserve it. And…" he looked down as if he wasn't planning on finishing the statement.

"And what?"

"Iwantyoutomeetmyparents" he choked out nervously.

_What did he say? _"What did you say?" she asked. He shrugged, obviously trying to downplay how he was feeling.

"I think it would be nice if you met my parents."

"Oh, I thought that's what you said." He cocked an eyebrow, questioning her response.

"Well what did you expect me to say?" she asked.

"How about 'that would be wonderful, I'd like you to meet my parents too'" he said in a high pitched voice trying to imitate her.

"I know-"

"This means you'd have to tell your father about us."

"I know!" she huffed, "And I promise that I will, but it's not just as simple as telling him; we have to be prepared. We need to get to know each other a little better first."

"We can do that now. What's your favorite muggle device? Mine are cars."

_Hair straightener._ "Cellphones- but Chase we don't have to do this now."

"That's not how the game goes Molly; you're supposed to ask me a question now." He teased. She wanted to be mad at him for being so difficult but she did have a question.

"What's your favorite color?" she asked.

"Blue. Yours?"

"It depends on how I'm feeling really, but my absolute favorite would probably be yellow."

"Alright, let's see; what's your middle name?" he asked.

"Olivia-I hate it. What's yours?"

"I like the name Olivia, and I don't have one."

"Why's that?"

"Well, my parents gave me a middle initial, which is B, but they didn't make it stand for anything. I think the point was for me to be able to choose for myself once I came of age." He said with a laugh.

"Well that was nice of them, except they chose the letter so that takes away some of the liberties. Ok next question, what's your family like?" she asked.

"Well it's not quite as big as yours; there's just me, my mum and dad, and my little brother Chance; he'll be coming to Hogwarts in about 2 years. My mom is really bubbly and a bit overbearing at times but she means well. My dad is really laid back and easy going; unless you get him angry, but that rarely happens. My mum would love getting to know you; she always says being boy crazy in school jinxed her because now she has all boys in the house." He said. The way he spoke of his family made her think of hers and how much she loved them.

"Do you have any cousins or other relatives?"

"Nah. Neither of my parents had siblings so I don't have any cousins that I'm close to. I know you have Vic, Teddy, and Roxy; it must be cool having that many cousins." She laughed loudly and could tell he was confused.

"Those aren't nearly all of my cousins." He raised his eyebrows in shock and she went on. "My dad has 5 brothers and a sister and all but one of them has at least 2 kids, and that doesn't include Teddy." She said trying to paint a picture for him.

"Wow." He said

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy. You know me Roxy, Vic, and Teddy, but there's also James, Dominique, Fred, Rose, Albus, Louis, Hugo, my sister Lucy, and Lily. We're always going over one another's houses and we see each other pretty much all the time. Things can get very hectic, but it's comforting being around so many people you love"

"Sounds like fun; you must really love them all."

"They'll love you. Especially Lucy and Lily; they're always looking for new people to entertain."

"So that means I will be meeting them?" he asked hopefully. She sighed dramatically.

"Yes, you can meet them after I tell my dad, which I promise to do soon."

"Thank you." He said before kissing her on the forehead. He stood up and she figured this was her cue that they were leaving. She spent the whole ride back to her house in sort of a daze; things in her life had never felt so perfect. She saw her house and knew they'd unfortunately be separating soon. He pulled up to her window and slowly started to open, though she could've sworn she'd left it opened. He held her hand as she climbed inside and she stuck her head out of the window to give him one last kiss.

"Goodnight Molly."

"Actually its Good morning." she heard her father say from behind her. She whipped her head around so fast that hit her neck on the window, forgetting she was halfway out of her room. When she looked at her father she saw that he was standing with his arms crossed and wearing an emotionless expression. He was so polished all the time; you never really tell what he's thinking.

"Uh, dad, what are you doing in here?"

"The appropriate question is what you were doing out there and with whom?" he said sternly. She turned around to see that Chase had climbed inside, apparently making an effort to face her father. _What a chivalrous idiot_.

"Chase Finnegan sir, pleased to meet you." He said stretching out his hand. Her dad looked at his hand and turned his nose up snobbishly so fast that she would have missed it if she hadn't been looking. He met Chase's hand and shook it a tad too firmly.

"Dad, this is my boyfriend." She interjected.

"Percy Weasley, but I'm not sure if I'd call this meeting pleasurable." He sneered. _Merlin, he is such a prat._ "Boyfriend?" She felt Chases' fingers intertwine with hers and found the strength to answer.

"He asked me out and I said yes so that in fact makes him my boyfriend. And I really really like him daddy and he likes me and he's extremely smart and talented and we're going to be together so you better get used to it or you can very well get used to me never speaking to you again."

She saw her dad's face turn a scary shade of red, and she felt the urge to check whether or not he was breathing. He from Molly to Chase to their hands, and back to Molly; then repeated the cycle two more times. He seemed to be weighing his options, which she figured was a good sign- at least he wasn't yelling.

"Finnegan you said? That would make your parents Lavender and Seamus correct?"

"Yes sir." He answered. _Oh god, he's going to kill his parents._

"Well, please let them know we'd love to have them as well as your brother over for dinner at a more appropriate hour if they would be so kind." He said. _What?_

"Um, yes sir. I'm sure they'd be delighted to." Chase said calmly.

"Very well, then. Have them owl me a date that works best for them and we'll sort the details then." Molly really couldn't believe how well her dad was taking this; she would have to think of a way to repay him later. "Well, you best be off son; it's getting pretty late."

"Nice meeting you, sir" he said. Her father walked toward him and held out his hand.

"Please, call me Mr. Weasley." Molly held back a laugh; Mr. Weasley wasn't any less formal than sir, but at least he was trying. Chase shook his hand again and headed towards the window to leave. "You're welcome to use the front door Chase; actually I'd rather you came in that way from now on." They all laughed and walked down to the front door. She gave Chase a hug before closing the door behind him and turned around to give her dad an even bigger one.

They hadn't so much as shook hands since she went off for her first year at Hogwarts so it was weird; but what was even weirder was how easy and familiar it felt. Sometime between then and now he had actually loosed up a bit. Maybe he was cooler than she gave him credit for.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Who was expecting that from Percy? Certainly not Molly. These last chapters were so fun to write! There will be one or two more chapter before the next school year starts!  
>-Jazz<strong>


	12. The Truth

"Sometimes the hardest thing to believe is the truth  
>Attempt to place our lives into your hands<br>Confide in what you'll do  
>Cause sometimes when you're trying to sleep<br>And all your doubts and your faith don't agree its cause  
>Sometimes the hardest thing to believe is the truth"<p>

-Relient K

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_Fred couldn't stand the stares his family received when they were together in public. He hated the way that they couldn't even go out together often due to those stares, and he hated that all the adults were so terribly covering up the real reason behind it. Clearly his family had some deep dark secret that everyone but the children knew about. Fred had a feeling that the older kids knew too, but Rox would have told him right? He and all his cousins used to sit around making conspiracy theories about their parents' pasts. Granted, most of them included spies, ninjas and pirates, but if witches were real who was to say all that other stuff didn't exist._

_The most reasonable guess would be that they were a really really important family, but if that was the case he couldn't see why. His dad owned one of the most successful joke shops…well ever, but that truly wasn't anything to fuss over. His uncle Harry was head of the Auror Department at the Ministry, but Fred was pretty sure that meant he just sat at a desk, bossing the other aurors around and didn't get to do the cool stuff himself. Both his mum and Aunt Ginny had played for the Holyhead Harpies before they were all born, but they both had very short-lived careers, and that was years ago. Again, nothing to be amazed about. He'd heard people say his Aunt Hermione was the brightest witch of her age, but who knew how many ages ago that actually was, and that shouldn't affect the rest of the family; so that couldn't be it._

_His family's list of interesting careers and hobbies was impressive, but it didn't explain the way people acted towards them. He and Roxy used to come up with the craziest ideas to explain it, but that stopped shortlyly after she went to Hogwarts. Either they had told her or she stopped caring; and Rox wasn't the type to stop caring about anything. It was extremely frustrating not knowing. In all honesty, he could probably ask some random person off of the street, but if they were working so hard to keep this a secret it must be something important. And he'd feel pretty stupid asking someone off of the street to tell him about his life. He knew he'd find out in time, but didn't know if he could wait any longer._

_He, James and Dom would be starting at Hogwarts soon, and he was determined to know what was going on. Fred was going to get some answers. Soon.  
><em>

* * *

><p>It was August 31st and Fred was sitting in his room making sure that he had all of his things packed for school. They were leaving tomorrow morning, but his parents had told them they needed to have a family meeting at The Burrow tonight, so he'd have to make sure he had all his things ready in case they didn't get back until late. It was times like these that Fred wished his parents would let him have one of those cell phones. He would have been able to call James and see what was going on, but he wasn't even sure who all was supposed to be at this "meeting". If there was an award for having the weirdest family on planet, his would be a shoe-in.<p>

"Ready to go?" his sister asked from the door way.

"Almost, but I'd be completely ready if I knew what was going on."

"You'll see when you get there." She said annoyed. He had been trying to get the truth out of her all day. He figured the meeting had to be about Dom and James tearing Hogwarts apart, but they weren't _that _bad. Roxy used to be quite the little troublemaker herself, but he still didn't remember them meeting with her about it. "Fred, let's go!"

"Fine, I'm coming." They used the floo and were tumbling out of the fireplace in no time. When the two of them found their bearings they realized that the whole house was silent; this was a first. They walked around to the sitting room where everyone usually gathered, and to his relief he saw James and Dominique sitting on the couch. They were the only ones sitting on that side of the room though; on the other side his mum and dad, Vic, Teddy, Roxy, Molly and all of his aunts and uncles were scattered on the other side. He noticed his grandparents weren't there and were probably watching the younger kids, who were also absent. This was ridiculous; had someone died? It made Fred happy to see that James and Dom were just as confused as he was. He sat on the couch next to Dominique and she was about to tell him something when his Uncle Harry cleared his throat. _Let the show begin._

"So, how about those Harpies?" he joked. All the adults gave him a look of warning, but Fred had to admit he had lightened the mood a little. Both James and Dom had loosened up a bit and his dad was failing to hold back a smile.

"Ok, I realize that this seems a bit dramatic, but we need you guys to be serious and hear us out for the next hour or so." Aunt Ginny said. She then patted Uncle Harry on the back and he stood up ready to tell them... well, whatever it was he was going to tell them.

"So I'm sure you've all noticed that whenever you are around other magical people they act a bit...odd. Well, that's kind of my fault" he said shyly. Were they about to find out the truth about their family? Fred was betting they were a family of murderers, he'd put his whole allowance on it so he'd better be right.

"It's not _all_ his fault" Hermione scolded while Ron shook his head.

"Dad, what did you do?" James asked worriedly.

"What didn't he do?" Molly said obnoxiously.

"Nothing bad James, let me start at the beginning." He then went into an intricate story filled with situations that you only heard about in movies or comic books. They each took turn telling bits of the story, and all Fred could do was listen in amazement at the lengths they had gone to just so they could have family story time. It was a shame Al and Rose weren't there, they would have loved it. Aunt Hermione was in the middle of telling them that _she_ had gone to the Yule Ball with Victor Krum who was a Triwizard Champion along with _his_ Aunt Fleur and Uncle Harry, when he decided enough was enough. There was no way _they _had done any of this stuff.

"Hold on!" Fred interrupted. "Are you guys making all this stuff up just to throw us off?"

"Yeah, because it seems what you're getting at is that the lot of you are…famous?." Dom continued.

"And that just can't be." James said in disbelief. None of the adults seemed to look guilty or anything, so they had been telling the truth? Roxy shook her head and let out a frustrated sigh. She had obviously heard this before.

"Just listen." She yelled. They all settled back in their seats and Uncle Harry continued his story. Not only had they fought trolls, killed a huge snake, and competed in the Triwizard Tournament, but they had also apparently started a renegade army to fight off Lord Voldemort, used fireworks in the middle of the O.W.L's, fought in a battle at the Ministry, and more. When Harry was done speaking no one said anything. Were they crazy?

"You guys were…are…awesome!" James yelled. "You guys are like superheroes or something, you pretty much saved the world!" He was getting really excited but Fred just couldn't get there yet. He turned to Dom for support, but she seemed to be more confused than angry.

"Why would you guys wait all this time to tell us?" Fred asked. "I mean, I don't think I'd be any more surprised than I am now."

"It wasn't about that honey," his mom started, "we thought about it for a really long time and decided it would be best to tell you guys when you were older."

"Because?" Dom prompted curiously.

"_Because_ we didn't want you growing up thinking you were better than anyone else." her dad answered. "That's part of the reason we sent you all to a Muggle School; so you guys wouldn't be mixed up in all the so-called "fans" and admirers."

"So you thought it was a better idea to wait until the night before we go to Hogwarts to tell us?" Fred asked, "That doesn't seem very-"

"What difference does it make Freddie?" James interrupted "We're a part of the coolest family ever, we're like rock stars" Fred snorted at the irony.

"And that's what you were trying to avoid right?" he asked pointing to James, who had put his feet up on the table. He reached behind Dom and slapped him on the back of the head then turned back to the adults. "Don't you think this is a bit much? It's just a lot to take in the day before going to new school where there will be people fawning over James; because if any of us is "famous" it'd be him, not us."

"Because my dad is famous." James said arrogantly.

"Nobody is famous!" Teddy yelled. "The point wasn't to wow you all with war stories and send you off into fame; it was to tell you the truth about who you are and the family you are a part of. I agree that it would be better if they just told you earlier, but that was their decision and they made it for a reason." He said.

"People aren't glorifying you, they're thankful for you." Victoire added in her motherly voice. "and for all that our family did for the Wizarding World. Our parents and grandparents risked their lives so that we could live in a more peaceful time. And sure, that means people stare and wave and treat you like a celebrity, but it comes with a downside too."

"Yeah" Roxy added "I'ts not like there are only people that are going to want to praise you, but there are going to be people that want to tear you down as well. People who pretend to be your friend just so they can say they're friends with you."

"That's part of the reason we don't have millions of friends around all the time. Eventually you'll learn how to weed out the true friends from the fake; but it's better sometimes to just not bother at all." Molly answered.

"We don't really get to show who we are" Vic added, "People just assume that our lives are perfect, meaning we have to be as perfect as possible. They're going to be watching your every move, just waiting for you to mess up or fail."

"Watching us? People really do that?" Dom asked. She was probably picturing all of her and James' devious schemes and plans going down the drain.

"Like a hawk." Teddy answered. "Teachers, housemates, enemies; everyone is always wondering what you're doing."

"It isn't easy," Vic added, "but that's what you've got us for. We're family, and we'll always be here for each other so just remember that." Fred looked at Dom and James meaningfully and the three of them silently agreed that they understood.

"Thanks" Harry said to the four of them, "Everything they told is true, but the most important thing to know is to be yourself. If you are truly being who you are, no one can ask any more of you."

"So now what?" James asked, "We just go to school tomorrow like we've known this all along?"

"No, you go to school tomorrow the same way you would have before." Uncle Percy said. "You're all first years just like everyone else, you know just as little magic as they do, and you are to adhere to the rules such as any other student would." Fred nodded his agreement but could see Dom and James struggling to; they had just been told that even though they could sometimes get away with about anything, they weren't allowed to. _Tough break._

"You will ultimately be looked upon as role models, and we expect you to behave as such." Aunt Hermione said kindly. _Role models?_ "Don't think you won't be watched; like Molly said, there will be people waiting for you to get in trouble or get away with something you shouldn't so they can run and tell The Daily Prophet that Harry Potters kids have gone wild." _They didn't put that kind of stuff in The Daily Prophet, did they?_

"Wait a minute, is this why we're not allowed to read Wizard magazines or newspapers? Have we been in the newspaper before?" he asked disbelievingly. Surely hey hadn't been in The Daily Prophet before. All the adults looked to Uncle Harry and he nodded before summoning a _very _large box.

"No way," Dom whispered. It floated through the air and landed softly on Dom's lap and Fred feared the over-sized shoe box might crush her. She hesitantly took the lid off of the box and Fred was amazed by what he saw. On the very first paper there was a picture of them from when they were leaving for their vacation with a headline that read 'Weasley Get Away; How the Other Half Live'.

They continued flipping through the pages and saw millions of papers and gossip magazines with articles about all of them. Some good; like ' Weasleys giving back', with a picture of them from a few years ago collecting old books and supplies for Hogwarts students who couldn't afford them, and some bad; like 'True Love Or True Publicity; The Truth Behind The Weasley Marriages' with a picture of Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron after they had clearly had a fight. There were a lot of gossip magazines that had caught them going to or leaving school, as well as pictures of the older kids at school that had to have been taken by nosy classmates. It was unbelievable; the media had captured moments of their life that they couldn't even remember. James shook his head and put the lid on the box; and Fred was glad because he didn't think he could stomach seeing anymore.

"This is…this is all just-"

"Mental." Fred finished for him. People knew them better than they knew themselves; and Fred had no doubt in his mind that people believed all of those rubbish stories printed in the Prophet.

"We apologize for throwing all this on you with such short notice, but we thought it would be for the best." Uncle Harry said, "If you ever have any questions we'd all be more than happy to answer them the best we can."

"I have a question. All this stuff you guys have done, do people just take your word for it, or is it written down somewhere?" Dom asked. "Not that I don't believe you, it's just it might be easier to digest if I read it, then asked questions later."

"Most, if not all of it, has been recorded in the newer editions of Hogwarts: A History," Hermione answered. " You'll more than likely start seeing it in your 3rd or 4th year. There's also a few books on each of us individually, and there are many accounts of you Uncle Harry's story out there…I have most of them in my library." She finished quickly, as if she was embarrassed that she had them.

"There are books about you and Rosie hasn't found them yet?" James asked jokingly.

"I'm just as surprised as you are." Ron answered. "Which brings up another point; we know you don't think it's best to tell you this way, but that doesn't make it your place to tell the younger kids."

The three of them nodded in agreement. It probably wouldn't be best for Lily and Lucy to see themselves in magazines when they were 7; they already thought they were famous. There was a long pause of silence while everyone let everything sink in. "So we're not a family of murderers?" he asked.

"Fred!" his mother yelled shocked.

"Told you mate," James said laughing, "Pay up!"

"No way! We aren't 'secret agents' either so no one wins." He replied. It was kind of silly how extreme their guesses seemed now. Dom started laughing, which made Fred laugh as well; this wasn't that bad at all. "So are we done here or is someone going to pull a rabbit out of a hat?"

"If the three of you don't have any more questions…" Ginny said while Fred Dom and James shook their heads, "then yes we're done. It's getting pretty late, you guys need to rest up for the big day tomorrow" He'd gotten so into the conversation that he had almost forgotten about starting Hogwarts tomorrow.

"I can't believe zee little ones are going to 'ogwarts already" Fleur said.

"That's what you say every year mum," Victoire said rolling her eyes. "We should probably get going; I don't want to be late and Dom needs her beauty rest." Dom looked at Fred and made a gagging noise before getting up and hugging both him and James.

"See you in the morning." She said as her and her family headed for the fireplace. They saw the bright green flames and that set everyone in motion. There were goodbyes and hugs and everyone left to their respective homes. When Fred got to his room he felt like he could pass out from how tired he was.

Roxy knocked on his door and made her way to his bed. "So, was that what you were expecting?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'd guessed all of it right except for that bit about breaking into Gringotts." He joked, "No, you tosser! Who could have expected that?"

Roxy laughed and shrugged, "I don't know. James seemed to take it pretty well."

"Bet you my whole allowance it goes straight to his head." He challenged.

"Oh please, I'm not putting any money on that. Did you really think we were a family of murderers though?"

"What was I supposed to think? I still kind of think we are."

"Well that's because sometimes the truth is the hardest to believe. But I promise you'll get used to it; there are only a handful of students that actually care, and once they see you're just a normal person, they'll forget all about your last name." Fred raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Alright they won't forget, but they'll learn to live with it."

"And the role model thing; is that true?" he asked. Roxy seemed to think carefully about her response before answering.

"Well I'll put it this way; if "Anna Banana" gets a detention her parents will probably never find out, but if you get detention it's all over the Daily Prophet in an article about how you're out of control, or something of that sort, and the whole world can read about it."

"No pressure." He said sarcastically. Roxy laughed and Fred joined in; it had been a long time since they'd talked like this. He'd never tell her, but the past three years he had missed her a lot.

"Alright Freddie, we should both get some sleep." She said as she headed for the door. "Want me to tuck you in?" she asked in a baby voice. He threw a pillow at her and she dodged it swiftly. "Love you too!" she yelled as she ran down the hall to her room. He settled into his bed and tried to really wrap his head around all the information he had just learned. He had mixed feelings about it; on one hand, it was pretty cool that his family played a major role in saving the Wizarding World, but on the other hand, it was pretty weird that they would be "role models" at school. He didn't even know these kids and they'd be all but tripping over themselves to befriend him. It was going to be interesting to say the least.

Part of him was glad that he'd finally got the answers he wanted; and there was another, smaller, part of him that didn't believe it. But more dominant than anything was the fact that he didn't really care. Maybe that was the reason why the adults waited so long to tell them the truth; all of his aunts and uncles just seemed like...aunts and uncles to him, and nothing would ever change that.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is the final chapter in the first year of the story. Yay! Next chapter includes the train ride to Hogwarts as told by...Dominique! Thanks for reading!  
><strong>**-Jazz**


	13. One Of The Boys part 1

"I saw a spider, I didn't scream  
>'Cause I can belch the alphabet<br>Just double dog dare me  
>And I chose guitar over ballet<br>And I'd take these suckers down, they just get in my way  
>'Cause I'm one of the boys"<p>

-Katy Perry

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_Anybody that knew Dominique could tell you that she was never one of those girly girls. She was a cute girl and plenty of boys at her old school liked her, but she wasn't into sneaking her mum's make-up, playing dress up, ballet, or anything requiring staying still, quiet or clean. Louis probably had better manners than her, and he wasn't the cleanest kid himself. She'd rather run around with the boys and wrestle and do her own thing; and she liked it that way. So of course she wasn't thrilled when her cousins had decided to waste one of her glorious summer days with one of their "girl's nights". Dom had begged to go with the boys and do whatever they were doing, but it looked like her mum was going to burst into tears so she decided to just playing along. However, James had already devised a plan to get her out of there as soon as possible._

_Molly, Rose, Roxy, Lily, and Lucy had come to her house and it sounded like they were having a good time, but she didn't see how, because nothing they were doing looked the least bit entertaining. The first thing they did was dress up to have tea and biscuits; everyone had rifled through her mum's old clothes and sat down talking about ridiculous things. Dom had stayed in her jeans and t-shirt and they excused her from the party when she made farting noises at the table. James and Fred would have thought it was hilarious, but the girls just thought it was disgusting; it wasn't like she had really farted. After tea she was asked to join them in the family room for movies, where they watched High School Musical 1, 2, AND 3 back to back because it was Lucy's favorite. That show had to be one of the most obnoxious things Dom had ever been forced to watch; all the characters were really pathetic except for that one that could bake, he was pretty cool. Throughout the movie Dom created a much better version in her head, where the mean one and her brother turned into zombies and ate everyone who tried to get in their show. It was amazing; she'd have to tell the boys about it later._

_She had figured they'd be ready to rest by now, but according to Molly they had only just started. The next activities Vic had called "make-overs". She laid out a million things that looked foreign to Dom, and everyones eyes went wide like they had just been granted their biggest wish. Even Roxy, who used to be a tomboy like Dom, seemed to be excited about it. Everyone started playing in the colorful goop, but Dom wasn't going anywhere near the stuff. Lucy and Lily looked like clowns, using any and every color all over their faces._

"_Come here Dom; let me give you some makeup!" Vic gushed hopefully, but Dom was about to burst her little happy bubble._

"_Rox, Vic has finally gone mad." She joked before turning to her sister. "Get away from me with that stuff."_

"_Oh come on! I'll only do a little; you'll barely even notice it's on you"_

"_Then what's the point of putting it on?" she asked. _

"_Please, please, please Dominique! Just let me have a sister for once instead of two brothers." Ouch. She may not want lipstick, but she was still a girl._

"_Fine, just a little." She said defeated. Vic looked like her whole world had turned upside down and raced towards her with a bunch of supplies. "I have to warn you though; you may have to use all of it to make me look nice."_

"_Oh come off it, you're a Weasley! You're gonna look amazing!" Molly said, "I'll do your hair!"_

"_I'll do your nails!" Rose squealed. Lily and Lucy just looked honored to witness the event, and she was glad they didn't offer to do anything to her. Everyone started working on her tirelessly and Dom had to admit it was pretty funny that she needed a whole team of girls to help make her over. Rose finished first and she was about to look down but Lily hit her on the head; apparently she wasn't allowed to look. Molly was the second to get finished and Dom watched as she pulled her wand out of the heat contraption Molly used on her hair all the time. Vic moved away and studied her face one last time before breaking into a huge grin. She looked around the room and everyone was either staring or smiling; what had they done to her?_

"_Roxy bring the mirror around!" Vic ordered happily; they had probably spread the stuff all over her face to make her look crazy. Somebody put their hands over her eyes and they led her to what she assumed was the mirror. "Ok Dom, have a look"_

_She opened her eyes and let out a huge gasp; she looked like a miniature version of Victoire. Her hair was in soft curls, and she could barely see any make-up but it had definitely made a difference. She looked…good? That was impossible._"_Dominique, you're beautiful!" Lily gushed. And for the first time she believed it. She still had on her t-shirt and jeans, but somehow they had made it look feminine. She would never admit it to anyone, but she kind of liked it. Just as she was about to show her mum she bumped into nothing in the hallway._

"_Ouch! D.W. watch where you're going!"_

"_James? You got the invisibility cloak!" she asked shocked. He pulled the cloak off revealing himself along with Fred and their friend Zack. She was awaiting her answer, but they were all looking at her with weird expressions. "What's the matter?"_

"_What in the world happened to you?" Zack asked. "They made you…a girl."_

"_I've been a girl for 11 years in case you didn't notice." She said. They were really making a big deal out of nothing. James started laughing and the other joined in; even Fred seemed to be amused._

"_What did they do to you? Are you…are wearing makeup?" This made everyone laugh even harder and for the first time ever, Dominique felt embarrassed. Of course it was funny that she looked nice; who would think Dominique Weasley could look nice? She could feel tears coming to her eyes; first a make-over now crying; this was crazy. She began laughing as well to try and cover up how hurt she felt._

"_Be quiet before they hear you" she warned "Let me get this crap off my face, then we can go!" She ran to the bathroom and closed the door, locking it so no one could come in and find her crying. The tears had made some of the makeup run, so now she really looked like one of those pansy girls from the movies. She washed her face and tied her hair up in a bun. She looked at herself in the mirror and wanted to hex her reflection; this was who she was._

_She left out of the bathroom and James lifted the cloak so she could come under. "There's the Dom I know," he said relieved "you gave us all a scare there for a second." They used the floo to get to James' house and all stumbled out covered in ash._

"_Nice to have you back man!" Zack said while clapping her on the back. Part of her hated the fact that they didn't look at her as a girl; but then again, she was just one of the boys. She gave a small, convincing smile before punching him in the stomach._

"_Nice to be back."  
><em>

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><p>When Dominique arrived at platform 9 ¾, she didn't get that feeling of excitement she'd always imagined. The atmosphere was kind of dead since it was so early, but that was her sisters' fault; she didn't want to "cut it too close" so they had arrived 2 hours early. But she wasn't going to let that bother her-she was about to start a new journey where she could do whatever she wanted; as soon as she got away from her parents.<p>

"…and don't get into too much trouble." Her father continued ranting. They'd been lecturing her since they left the house about what she shouldn't do when she got to school. Little did they know, she wasn't planning to be a complete menace…only a partial one.

"… zere eez nuzzing funny about detention ma cherie" her mother added. Well duh, but a contest to see who could get the most _did _sound like fun.

"…teachers are not your personal target, they are there to help you" her dad dragged.

"…just do as you're told and there won't be any problems." Victoire finished._ Wait, Victoire?_

"Bloody hell! I forgot I had two mothers." Dom yelled dramatically, causing the few people there to turn their heads. "You are _not _the boss of me"

"According to this badge I am the boss of you." Vic replied straightening her prefect badge.

"According to that badge you are princess of the prats." She replied honestly. Her sister was such a phony; she pretended to be a perfect little angel in front of their parents, but she was really just as crazy as the rest of them.

"Language young lady" her father warned and her sister smiled a devilish smile.

"Yes, such language is not appropriate for a..._lady_."

"Lady my arse."

"That's enough girls." Their dad yelled. "Now, I don't want to hear of any fighting between you two. Don't forget I have eyes all over the school." Right, they were going to be watched by almost everyone. This whole reputation thing had better not interfere with their good time. Dom felt like the family had made a big deal about the whole thing; the way they sat them all down like that, she thought someone had died. Why they would hide their past from them she didn't fully understand; if it was her, she'd tell her kids as soon as possible. They had said it was so they didn't grow up thinking they were better than others, but that plan had clearly failed with James.

"Don't worry William; I'll keep an eye on Victoire for you." Dom said, hoping to get one last rise out of her dad before Christmas. Her mom let out a frustrated sigh while her her father blushed and Louis giggled. He was clearly the only other person in their clan with a sense of humor. Sweet child, she would miss him.

"That's Bill to you…I mean Dad, just…behave please?" he begged.

"I'll be an angel." She replied while making a halo around her head. Dom could have sworn she saw a camera flashing, but she didn't see anyone out of the ordinary so she decided to ignore it. She gave her parents one last hug before turning to her brother. Louis was her favorite sibling considering Victoire drove her crazy. He was kind of shy and really gullible, but she could tell they had the potential to be really close. "See you soon Louis! Now that I'm at Hogwarts you'll be the prettiest one at that ghastly school." She joked.

"Not the prettiest Dom, the fittest. Guys aren't pretty." He answered."Bye Vic!" he chirped while hugging her tight.

"See you at Christmas Lou." She answered turning towards the train without a second glance. Dom turned to wave at her parents one more time, then had to power walk just to keep up with Victoire. She silently followed after her sister, and couldn't help but get excited at the freedom she was about to get. She kept walking until she bumped into someone. "Vic, why'd you stop? Where are we going anyway?" She asked

"_I'm_ going to the prefects meeting, you're going wherever your little heart desires. I'm sure someone from the family will be here soon, I'll catch up with you guys later." And with that she walked off; some sister she was. Dom kept on walking forward until she found a compartment that was completely empty. She was about to pull out her Fanged Frisbee to feel around for her limits, when a skinny, shy-looking girl walked into the compartment.

"Hello. Is anyone sitting here?" the girl asked. Since this was a new start, she decided she would try being nice.

"Not now, but some of my family should be coming soon. You could stay here if you'd like, I'm sure there will be enough room." That wasn't so bad.

"Sure, I'm Nadia Braswell" the girl said holding out her hand.

"Dominique Weasley." She was going to shake the girls hand but she covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. Had she offended her? She thought she was being sickeningly polite.

"You're Dominique Weasley?" the girl asked unsurely.

"According to my parents, but-"

"Your parents Bill and Fleur, right?" she asked.

"Umm yes, but-"

"Oh my goodness, my sisters aren't going to believe I'm going to be friends with a Weasley! Your parents kept you so hidden, we weren't even sure if you guys actually existed! Don't you have like a million cousins? Are they coming too? You know Fred and James?" she paused. _Really?_

"Unfortunately, but-"

"I hope we're in the same house, they're first years too right? They are _so_ handsome, are they here yet? What's Harry Potter like; do you call him Uncle Harry or Harry? Oh my goodness! You're so lucky to be you!" Dominique couldn't believe what she was hearing. This loon was going on and on like mad and if all kids were gonna be like this she'd never say her last name again. She backed towards the door slowly before speaking.

"Well I'd love to stay and chat with you, but I've got to go to the…um, somewhere else." Dominique left out of the compartment and thankfully saw a familiar face. "Fred! Let's go in here" she yelled pointing to another compartment. He opened the door for her and she rushed in, sitting before anyone else could try to speak to her."If you meet a girl named Nadia, walk the other way." She explained her strange run in with the crazed Harry Potter fan, and Fred merely shook his head as if he'd been dealing with this all of his life.

"Sounds like we've got a nutter on our hands. So, she thinks I'm handsome?" He asked.

"Oh shut it, she's probably still in there waiting for me to come back and show baby pictures of you and James or something."

"Steer clear of people like that. They don't want to know you, just what color underwear Uncle Harry wears." He said with a smirk as the door slid open. _Yuck._

"Ew, thanks for that disturbing mental picture. Hey Dom!" she waved at Roxy and scooted closer to the window. "Are we the only ones here so far?" They didn't have to answer her because there was a loud yell from the platform that sparked a riot within the crowd surrounding the train.

"Nope." Molly answered as she walked in holding hands with a boy she'd never seen before. "Apparently Harry Potter is here." Dom looked out of the window where she saw cameras flashing and her Aunt Ginny's red hair bobbing and weaving through the crowd. People were making a huge fuss over the guy that taught her how to play Quidditch, and made bad jokes, and gave the best advice. It was very surreal, and she would feel bad for James but that thickhead was probably somewhere signing autographs. "By the way everyone, this is Chase, my boyfriend." _Boyfriend? This could be fun. _"Chase, this is Roxy's brother Fred, and Vic's sister Dominique." Dom turned on her veela charm and held out her hand.

"Nnnice to mmmeet you." He stammered, and Dom couldn't help but laugh. That would never get old.

"Cut it out Dom! That's not funny!" Molly shouted. Roxy and Fred were holding back their laughs and Chase seemed to be shaking his head, unsure of what had just happened. It got scarily quiet on the halls of the train, and James appeared in front of the compartment door with an annoyed look on his face. "Merlin these people are weird, they're just staring like I'm from another planet."

"Maybe if you hadn't come so late you could've dodged the crowd." Roxy suggested.

"I could've been earlier but Lily threw a fit hoping I'd miss the train and stay with her." He said sadly. Lily was one of few weaknesses James had; he'd do anything for that girl and Dom would bet he was the one that threw the fit. "I'm just glad I found you guys, I never thought I'd see the day where you lot would be the normal ones." He said

"Look who's talking." Dom joked. He lounged across the seat and got comfortable completely ignoring the guy staring at Molly. Dom cleared her throat and tilted her head in Chase's direction. James looked at her confused, but she pointed at him and he understood.

"Oh! Hello, I'm James Potter." he said extending his hand out to Chase.

"Chase Finnegan." He replied

"My boyfriend." Molly added pointedly. James raised his eyebrows and gave Fred a meaningful look, but didn't say anything. Dom could tell he was planning something for Chase; he may only be 11, but he was just as overprotective as Teddy, if not more. The train pulled off and they were finally on the way to Hogwarts. Dom couldn't believe it, this was going to be amazing!"Well now that we're on the way I'm going to go sit with some people from my year. You guys can manage on your own?"

"It's a moving train, what could we possibly do?" Dom asked. Molly rolled her eyes and pulled Chase out of their compartment with her.

"I'm going to go too" Rox said getting up, "Do you all need me?"

"No Rox, we're fine." Fred whined. She clearly didn't need much convincing because she left quickly to meet up with whomever. Dom didn't understand how they even had friends; it seemed impossible. There was a knock on their compartment door and she saw her sister standing there with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Look who I found wandering around." Vic said. It was Zack Longbottom, one of their oldest friends and President of Victoire's fan club. They'd met a few times when they were younger because his dad was close with James' dad, and James was her best friend. It just worked. "I'll be back later to check up on you four."

"Don't make any promises!" Dom shouted after her. "Zacky Zack! How are ya?" she asked giving him a hug.

"Better, now that I get to see your sister every day." He said while wiggling his eyebrows arm. She punched him and smiled at the fact that she could still make him flinch.

"I may be biased, but she's way out of your league." James said. Zack turned around as if he had just realized there were others in the compartment.

"Jamie! Freddie! It's been so long!" he said dramatically.

"It's been a week. What have you been up to?" Fred said.

"Just fighting off the ladies, but that's only to be expected." Dom rolled her eyes. What kind of pathetic girls were fighting over a scrawny 12 year old with a big head?

"Keep dreaming man." James said. Zack gasped loudly and looked offended.

"Do you doubt my skills J.P?"

"No, because you don't have any skills." Oh goodness, this was not going to turn out good for Dom.

"Wanna bet Potter? Who can charm the most girls in 45 minutes?" Of course he does.

"Can't believe you had to ask. You in Fred? " Fred was usually the sensible one, and she figured he would stay with her.

"I've got this in the bag; the secret is to not be a complete prat like you guys are."

"Alright then, let's go!" Zack said confidently, "And no last names! We wouldn't want them to get star struck"

"Same goes for you Longbottom!" Fred shouted. The boys all jumped up and headed for the door. "We'll be back soon; you'll be alright in here alone?" What was she 5? Dom nodded and watched as he left out to follow the other boys. So much for the time of their lives; they were only an hour into their Hogwarts adventure and they had already ditched her to go after girls. It was times like this, when she couldn't participate in 'boy stuff' that she would worry about their friendship. She knew they were young and didn't have any serious interests in dating, but this was only a glimpse at life in two or three years- maybe it was time for her to get some friends of her own.

"What are you doing sitting here all by yourself?" a boy asked, peeking his head into the compartment. He looked familiar but she'd just embarrass herself if she tried to guess.

"I'm not all by myself." She said. He looked around the compartment with an amused look on his face.

"Oh right, how did I miss all of these people?" He said jokingly. She looked up at him again and wished she could remember why he looked so familiar. He was a good looking guy, for an 11 or 12 year old, and he had medium-brown skin that reminded her of milk chocolate, he had curly hair and warm brown eyes; she would bet all her allowance that he'd be Hogwarts next ladies' man.

"I wasn't by myself before, my friends all left to do…stuff, so I'm just holding down the fort." She said lamely.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked sitting down.

"Do I really have a choice? Looks like you're already getting pretty comfortable."

"Yeah, I guess I am. I'm Carter Thomas by the way."

"Dominique" she said before making an awkward pause. If he freaked out about who she was, she would ask to be homeschooled." Weasley." she finished. It looked like he was trying really hard not to laugh at her.

"Did you forget your name or was that long pause your middle name?" he joked.

"No" she said with a small laugh. "I had a bad experience earlier thanks to my last name. I wasn't sure if you'd be the same or not."

"Did you think I'd ask for your autograph? Because that actually _is _the reason I came in here" he said.

"You think you're funny Carter?"

"I'd say so, Dominique."

"Please, if we're going to be friends you have to call me Dom. Nobody calls me Dominique unless they want to die." He made a face, pretending to be thinking about his options.

"Alright, Dom it is then. I'm pretty sure our families are old friends though so I've heard your last name loads of times."

"How so?"

"Both of my parents were in Dumbledore's Army, and my mum went to the Yule ball with your Uncle Harry the year of the Triwizard Tournament. I think they're actually really good friends."

"Dumbledore's Army?" she asked confused. He nodded his head slowly and she felt like a complete idiot as she remembered what that was."Sorry, I should know this stuff, but to be honest I just found out last night." she said shyly

"So you knew _nothing _about your family before...yesterday?" he asked. Now she felt really stupid.

"Not exactly. We knew some things, but they didn't give much detail. Actually most of the stories our grandparents told us, but they changed the names and none of us believed them anyway. Our parents kind of filled in the gaps last night. Like we knew they went to the Yule Ball the year of the Triwizard Tournament, but we didn't know that they actually participated in the tournament."

"Oh, I get it. My parents kind of told me through bedtime stories when I was younger, then a few years ago they told me it was true."

"Wait, you said your mum went to the Yule Ball with my Uncle? So Dean and Parvati are your parents?" she asked. If her family hadn't been so paranoid about their pasts, they might have met before. He nodded and she had another epiphany. "So Alexei's your sister then?" she asked

"Yeah, how'd you know her?"

"She's best friends with my sister; she's come over a few times."

"I knew you looked familiar! You're Victoire's sister aren't you? Well then we're kind of like best friends by association."

"Sorry, that position is filled" she heard a voice say "I'm James, and this is Fred and Zack." He said turning to their new friend.

"I'm Carter, I didn't mean to intrude." he said a little nervously

"It's not intruding if your friends." James said.

"How do you know he wants to be friends with a git like you?" Zack joked.

"Git or not, I'm not really in the position to turn down any friend. Besides you guys, the only person I know here is a fifth year named Chase." James childishly stuck his tongue out at Zack and clapped Carter on the back.

"Well, I tried warning you mate."

"Wait, Chase Finnegan?" Fred asked. Carter nodded his head. "That's Molly's boyfriend."

"Your cousin Molly has a boyfriend?" Zack asked shocked.

"I'm more shocked that Chase got a girlfriend. He may be fit and all, but he's not the brightest owl in the barn."

"That explains it then, because neither is Molly." Dom all laughed and began talking and getting to know each other. She was glad they were taking to Carter; he seemed like a really nice guy and hoped they would all really be friends."So who won your stupid bet?" Dom asked curiously, interrupting whatever Fred was about to say.

"I did of course." Zack answered too quickly.

"So you lost" Carter said. "I'm not surprised."

"Fred won." James confessed. "He was kicking our arses so we used the mercy rule."

"Of course my Freddie won" Dom said pinching his cheeks. Fred was a sweetheart; any person that didn't like him was either mentally ill or had no heart.

"Cut it out D" he begged. They all laughed and spent the rest of the trip joking around and having a good time. She could tell that they were going to have a blast this year. Victoire stopped by and told them they should change into their school robes, and the sight of them all dressed and ready to go warmed Dominique's little icy heart. "This is going to be amazing" Fred said, obviously picking up on the sentimental vibes as the train came to a stop.

"Let's make a pact" James said quickly before anyone got up. "The five of us will always have each other's backs no matter what, even when we feel like punching each other." They all nodded in agreement.

"Aww besties forever" Zack said in a girly voice.

"Let's go before Zack here loses whatever cool points he has." Carter all laughed and filed out of the train and Dom smiled as they made their way to the boats; with friends like these, being one of the boys wasn't so bad after all.


	14. Two Can Play That Game

"I'm sorry you can't do me like those  
>other busters from around the way<br>so if you wanna play then let's play.  
>Believe me girl two can play that game"<br>-Corey

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><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_When James got home from The Burrow, he couldn't sleep. All he could do was think about what he had just learned of his family. His parents were heroes, and there was something about that that made James feel proud. He was imagining his dad fighting a dragon when he heard a familiar knock at his door. "Come in!" he shouted._

"_Hey, buddy!" his dad called, "Mind if we have a quick chat before you go to bed?"_

"_Sure. What's up dad?"_

"_Well, I know you know that a lot of people in our family have done a lot of great things."_

"_Try a million great things." He joked_

"_Yes well, I don't want you to ever feel like you have to do anything to compete with that to make me proud. I'm already proud of you so there's no need in breaking your neck to do what you think I want you to do."_

"_But... I want to be just like you. I want to be in Gryffindor and play Quidditch, and have loads of friends and be really important." His dad laughed quietly before putting on his serious face._

"_Why do you want to be in Gryffindor James?" he dad asked. Was he joking?_

"_You, mum, everyone was and is in Gryffindor. It's like an unspoken tradition or something."_

"_Exactly. But you're not everyone, you're James. This means you get your own path in life just like everyone else. Be the person you want to be son, not the person you think people will expect you to be. You'll always be stuck trying to be better or do better than other people, and that will make you miserable. Just be yourself and everything wil work out. Do you understand?" James never really understood his dad's advice, but he did understand this is the part where you say you understand._

"_Yeah dad, I'll do my best." He said confidently._

"_That's all I ask." His father left, leaving James even more restless than he was before. He just had to be in Gryffindor, where else would he go?  
><em>

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><p>"James! Professor Longbottom just called your name you idiot!" Fred whispered, bringing him back to reality. James looked around and saw that all eyes were on him; he must have really been out of it. He sat on the stool and took a quick glance around the room. They were apparently all the way to the P's so he wanted to see who had gotten sorted where. He let out a sigh of relief when saw that the crazy girl Nadia from the train was put into Hufflepuff. He was glad to see Zack was seated at the Gryffindor table along with a boy he hadn't yet met and three girls he'd met on the train. He felt the hat be placed on his head and took a nervous breath.<p>

"_Nerves? From the boy who appears to not have a care in the world?" the hat hissed._

"_You'd be nervous too if you were facing this much pressure." James thought._

"_Well you hide it very well Mr. Potter. I also sense you are extremely cunning and clever, but you hide that as well so that it appears to others you neither care nor try hard. Though, under the valiant exterior lies caution and the need for approval. You have such composure for such a young mind; yes, yes, I think you'd do well in Slytherin."_

_James almost fell off of the stool. "Slytherin? No! You've got to be kidding me!"_

"_Well my entire job is to place students where they belong once a year, do you think I would kid you?"_

"_No, but there's got to be something I can do! I absolutely have to be in Gryffindor!"_

"_Actually, you have to be where I place you."_

"_Please not Slytherin though. My friends and I made a pact that we'd stick together, I can't just leave them."_

"_So similar to your father, yet you're very different indeed. Like I told him, many great wizards have come from Slytherin. You have a lot going for you young Mr. Potter; just remember others have something to offer as well. Better be-" Oh crap._

"_GRYFFINDOR!"_

The Hall erupted with cheers, the loudest coming from his cousins. Nothing could compare to what he felt at the moment. He ran to sit at the Gryffindor table and took a seat next to Zack. "What took you so long?" he asked.

"Oh, the hat was just giving me advice and stuff." He lied swiftly; he would _never _tell anyone the hat almost put him in Slytherin without a second thought. It was a good thing he'd said something or he'd have surely been the first snake in the family..

"It kind of just shouted it out for me, it didn't say much. Oh look, Carter's up!" he said pointing to the front of the room. He watched as Carter strode up to the stool with the kind of confidence that James tried so hard to create. He placed his hands in his pockets as if he could care less what was about to happen, but didn't have much time to get comfortable because the hat placed him in Gryffindor instantly. Everyone including James cheered and clapped, but he couldn't help but feel a little jealous at how easy that had been. Carter walked over to the table and sat next to him before giving both him and Zack high fives.

"This is wicked! Now we just have to see if Fred and Dom are put here." Carter said happily. James watched as the rest of his classmates were sorted one by one, until Fred, a girl he didn't know, and Dom were the only ones left standing in the front of the room. Professor Longbottom called his best friend and she walked up to the stool hesitantly. Some idiot from the crowd wolf whistled at her and she bowed, making most of the people in the Great Hall laugh; always the charmer. She sat down and the hat seemed to take his time with her as well, which made him feel better since he wasn't the only one that had to beg the hat to be placed somewhere.

"_GRYFFINDOR!"_ the hat shouted. James and the rest of the table burst into cheers but noticed that Dom didn't look all that excited. _What was that about? _He didn't have much time to dwell about it, because Fred was called up next. He sauntered over to the stool and was placed in Gryffindor even faster than Carter had been if that was possible. He came to sit with the rest of them and they all made crazy amounts of noise. The last girl, Hollis Yates, was placed into Gryffindor as well, and after McGonagall made a speech about learning and growing and a bunch other useless stuff, the feast began. In the blink of an eye there was so much food on the table; James didn't think it was real. All thoughts of…well anything vanished, and he was scarfing down food relentlessly.

"Slow down James," Dom said with a smile, "I don't think it's gonna disappear."

"Yeah, you'll have food like this for the next seven years." Carter said

"What a great seven years it's gonna be too!" he said back. "How cool is it that we're all in Gryffindor together?" The only response he got was a quick nod from Carter, but the others either didn't respond or pretended they hadn't heard. "Not…cool at all I guess. Wait, you guys didn't want to be in Gryffindor together?"

"Well," Zack started unsurely, "I think it's brilliant that we're all together, but we could've been together in Ravenclaw or something couldn't we?" he asked. James only raised an eyebrow in response. "It's kind of cliché for all of us to be here. I mean _all_ of our parents were friends in this same house, I just don't want people to think we're trying to follow them or something."

"All our parents were great! Why wouldn't we wanna be like them?" James asked confused.

"It wasn't about the parents for me." Dom interjected. "I specifically asked to _not_ be placed here. Anywhere would have been better than the same place as sweet, perfect Vic; now she can just bother me for the next two years."

"Great, well what about you Fred? Gonna tell us you have a secret dream to be in Hufflepuff? "James asked sarcastically.

"Nah, I didn't really care. It was up to the hat, so why even get worked up about it." He said.

"You didn't care? So I practically begged to…have my friends with me and none of you care!"

"Well we're all in Gryffindor." Dom said breaking up what looked like it was going to be a big fight. "I'm happy all of us are together, no matter where it is alright? Let's just move on." James was going to let it go, because he hated looking like the one that cared too much. He was silent during the rest of the meal but was secretly pissed about the current situation. They had made a pact to have each other's backs no less than 2 hours ago, and they were all ready to jump ship and go to different houses. He could understand Zack; being in the same house as your father who still taught at the school and was the Head of House might be hard, but he had figured he and his cousins would be in Gryffindor together. "James, you coming?" Dom asked. He looked up and saw that people were slowly filing out of the Great Hall. He followed Victoire through the huge halls in amazement and joined in the ooh's and aah's chorusing from the other first years. There were so many hallways and doors, and James fully intended to explore each one in his time at the school. He and the other Gryffindor's made their way to the stairs, and came to a stop in what James recognized as the Fat Lady from Teddy's stories.

"Attention everyone!" Victoire chirped. Almost everyone stopped speaking immediately; most of the boys were just drooling. _Pathetic. _We are now at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, where you must use the password to get in. The password will change frequently, so make sure you keep up to date with announcements and notices. Although you will become familiar with the Fat Lady, you cannot get in just because she knows you, you must know the password." _How many more times can she say password?_

"How about you just tell us the password?" Dom said. James laughed as a reflex, and Victoire rolled her eyes and continued her spiel.

"Disrespect will not be tolerated. I don't like it, but I am capable of taking points from my own house, and will do so if it is needed. No exceptions. Curfew for first years is 8:00 p.m. on the weekdays and it is extended one hour on the weekends. You are not allowed in the Forbidden Forest and you may not use magic in the corridors between classes. I know I'm not supposed to say this, but as long as you don't draw attention to yourself you should be fine. I try not to concern myself with other people's business, so help me help you and we should have a fun year!" she finished. She stepped in front of the door before shouting "Tarantallegra!" at the door_. Interesting word. _They filed into the common room and it was everything James had imagined it to be. The red and gold was warm and inviting, and the fire added to the homey feeling; he could just picture his dad in here sitting around talking with his mum and aunt Hermione and Ron. "Girls dormitories are on the up the stairs on the left, first years share the highest floor with the 2nd years, it's the same for the boys on the staircase to your right. Have a good night!"

_Cliché my arse. _James was going to prove to his crummy friends that this was the house to be in; he had to do everything. Most of the first years dispersed, and James stopped Dom before she could get up the girls stairs. "Meet me in the common room at midnight, your roommates too." He whispered. She looked at him like he'd gone crazy.

"Really James, breaking curfew the first night?" she asked sounding a bit like Vic. "Oh god, I just sounded like Vic. Fine! I'll ask the others." James went to the other side of the room and took the stairs to the fourth landing where their dorms would be. All of their stuff had already been unpacked for them and James went to his bed, that was conveniently located in the middle of the others. Fred, Zack and Carter had all started doing their own thing, and it wasn't until James heard the sound of a quill on parchment that he even remembered they had a fifth roommate. He looked to the bed nearest the window and saw an impish looking boy scribbling away."Hey, man!" James said conversationally

"Uh, hey." He said in a small voice, not looking up from his writing.

"I'm James Potter."

"Eric Cohen."

"Nice to meet you Eric, I'm Zack. And these other two are Fred and Carter."

"Nice meeting all of you." He went back to his writing without another word to the rest of them.

"What are you doing around midnight Eric?" he asked. The boy turned his head and looked at James like he had just asked him on a date or something.

"Sleeping? What are you doing?"

"All of us Gryffindor first years are getting together for a little 'meet and greet' later, you should come."

"Uh yeah, I'll think about it." He replied before picking up his quill and parchment and leaving the room. James made a mental note to make sure he and this guy had a proper talk, there was something off about him_._

"What's this about a meet and greet?" Fred asked, "At midnight?"

"I figured we should all get to know each other. We're going to be housemates for the next few years, why not get to know each other right away?"

"And breaking curfew our first night in the common room is the best you could come up with?" Carter asked.

"You scared of Vic or something?" James asked slyly."She's just a prefect."

"No, but I'm not stupid either. Why don't the girls just come up here? At least then we won't be in the middle of the common room at night."

"That actually does sound like a better idea." Zack said.

"Fine, whatever." James resolved. This Carter kid was going to be a piece of work. They were too much alike in personality and James just hoped that wouldn't turn out to be a bad thing in the future. He began setting up the room for their get-together. He pulled most of the pillows off of the beds and made a circle on the floor, making sure to leave a space for Eric just in case. He pulled out his radio and turned to a station that was playing both muggle and wizard bands. When he was done he left to go get the girls, who should already be there because it was already past twelve. James walked down to the common room where he saw Dom sitting with the other girls from her dorm. They were chatting quietly while his cousin sat away from them; clearly uncomfortable with their topic of chice. He cleared his throat and all of their heads popped up.

"You're late." One of the girls said. She looked like she could have been one of Dom's distant french cousins with her straight blonde hair, and dark blue eyes. She had tanned skin and was glaring at James with her arms crossed.

"No, I'm James. And I'm just early for next time." He replied. The girl rolled her eyes and James had the urge to hit her for lacking a sense of humor. "Anyway, Carter suggested that we move this party to our room."

"That makes sense." The blonde girl said. "That way we won't get caught as quickly." James held his tongue and motioned for the girls to follow him. They made the short trip up the stairs and James held the door open for them as they filed inside. He and the girls joined his roommates and sat on the empty cushions on the floor, staring at each other in silence.

"Well, maybe we should start with introductions. Since Dom knows the names of everyone here, I think she should do the honors." James said taking charge. _As always._

"Alright." She started, "I'm Dominique, obviously, and this is Carter Thomas, James Potter, Fred Weasley and Zack Longbottom. Guys, this is Marissa Ortega, Leah Maddox, Linden Love, and Hollis Yates." They all acknowledged the introduction, but quickly went back to their silent staring.

"Well this isn't awkward at all." The annoying blonde girl that Dom had called Linden said. "What a brilliant idea you had here James." The entire room filled with laughter and James turned to face the comedian.

"Excuse me for merely attempting to promote a little house unity." He shot back.

"Be careful trying to use those big words J.P., you might choke on one some day." Fred joked.

"That's only if he doesn't choke on his ego first." Linden chimed. The whole group got a kick out of that one and even his cousins and friends were laughing. This was _not_ going as planned.

"Coming from the girl attacking a guy she doesn't even know? I'd call you a hypocrite, love, but I wouldn't want to choke on such a big word." He said indifferently. The girl stiffened at the name; clearly he had struck a nerve.

"_Don't_ call me love." She huffed.

"But that's your name isn't it?" he asked with false innocence. "I don't think we're _quite_ on a first name basis yet."

"You can't be serious." She said.

"I am, actually. Sirius is my middle name." he said proudly.

"Yeah, and mine's idiot." She joked, obviously unaware that his middle name really was Sirius.

"That's interesting; Linden Idiot Love. Doesn't really have a ring to it, but if that's your name…" he trailed off.

"Shut up you git, I'm going to bed." She glared at James once more and he returned the gesture with a sweet smile. That pissed her off. "It was nice meeting _most _of you." All of the others waved, and she turned on her heel and left. Well that was fun. As soon as she got to the door frame she bumped into Eric, who dropped all of his papers and quill and ink.

"Watch out Eric, it bites!" he yelled. This earned him laughs from almost the whole group, and she left without a word while Eric quickly gathered all of his things and rushed to his bed. "Have a seat!" he said pointing to an open space in the circle. Eric continued walking past them but before he laid down he pointed his wand towards the group and muttered the word 'Muffliato' with a swish of his wand. He then climbed onto his bed and closed the curtains without giving them a second glance. _Weird._

"Who was that?" Dom asked

"That was Eric, our other roommate." Carter said in a voice that sounded like he wasn't too sure himself.

"He already knows magic!" the girl named Leah squealed.

"Well he's kind of rude." One of the other girls said looking offended. She had a weird accent, and James wanted to say it was American.

"Hollis is it?" Carter asked, "Where are you from?"

"Atlanta, Georgia. It's in America."

"No way! My dad's muggle side of the family is from there, we visit every summer. We know most of the wizard families in that area though, and I've never seen you before."

"That's because I'm not from a wizard family, I'm the only witch. Unless you count my mom but the proper word for her is bitch." She said with a laugh. The group continued chatting and joking, but James couldn't pay attention to anything other than that girl. She was pretty, like _really _pretty. She had brown skin that was about a shade darker than Roxy's, and it reminded him of the coffee his mum and dad drank. She was really small compared to the other girls in the group, but not too skinny. She was nice, but she wasn't a pushover. Like the stereotype of most Americans she seemed really smart and independent, almost to the point where it was cocky. But James thought she had the right to be cocky, she was kind of perfect.

"Earth to James!" Zack called. "Hello, you in there buddy?" James shook away the thoughts of the American as quickly as he could.

"Yeah, I got distracted. Sorry." He said lamely.

"We're going to bed" Hollis said, "but thanks for doing this James, now we'll all know each other and won't feel _completely_ lost in classes tomorrow."

"Ugh, don't remind me about our bloody classes." Zack whined.

"We've got Charms first with Hufflepuff." Marissa said speaking for the first time that night. She sounded way too excited for the first day of school. _Nerd._

"You say that like it's a good thing," Fred said confused.

"But it's the first day of classes, it _is _a good thing!" she yelled.

"Clearly we need to get her to bed." Leah joked. They all laughed and the girls made for the door.

"See you guys at breakfast." Dom said with a wave.

"Tell Miss Love I said sweet dreams!" he joked. This had turned out to be a not so bad idea, although they'd have to be up in about 5 hours if they wabted to get breakfast and be on time for Charms.

"I haven't seen many of the other girls in our year," Zack started, "but I'm going to go out on a limb and say we've got the best looking ones in our house."

"And thank gods they all seem pretty normal." Carter agreed. Not all of them, James thought. They all climbed into their beds and fell asleep one by one. James couldn't sleep though because he had two things on his mind. One was the lovely Hollis Yates, and the other was the not so lovely Linden Love. That girl had a real problem, and she obviously didn't care for James much either. That was fine with him; she could be crazy all she wanted, because two can play that game


	15. Flaws And All

**Disclaimer: Yeah right, like I could own Harry Potter! I dont even own my car.**

"I'm a puzzle yes indeed  
>Ever complex in every way<br>And all the pieces aren't even in the box  
>And yet, you see the picture clear as day<br>I don't know why you love me  
>And that's why I love you<br>You catch me when I fall  
>Accept me, flaws and all"<p>

-Beyoncé

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_The doorbell rang and Molly jumped up from the bed and ran to the door. She counted to five so she wouldn't seem overly excited,and opened the door with a huge smile on her face. Chase was standing there dressed in a nice pair of muggle jeans and a black button down shirt; he looked amazing. "Come in!" she said politely "dinner should be ready soon."_

"_Mum, dad, this is my girlfriend Molly." Chase said. Molly held out her hand to his father and shook his hand, but his mother swallowed her in a tight hug as if they'd known each other for years._

"_Pleased to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan." She said._

"_Oh please dear, call me Lavender. Chase, why didn't you tell us how lovely Molly was? Such a pretty girl!" she gushed._

"_Calm down Lav," his father said. "You'll have to excuse my wife, she can get so excited about the simplest things."_

"_No problem, and this is your brother?" she asked pointing to the little carbon copy of her boyfriend._

"_I'm Chance." He said sweetly._

"_Molly." She said as she held out her hand to him. He kissed her hand and she laughed at how sweet he was while Chase rolled his eyes. "You all can follow me into the dining room." She led his family through the house and nervously motioned for them to all take a seat at the table._

"_Percy! Luce! Come down, our guests are here and dinner is ready!" her mum called. She could tell her mom was in superwoman mode trying to cook, and clean, and look perfect all at the same time. Her sister ran down the stairs followed by her father and they both took a seat at the table._

"_Hello everyone!" her sister chirped._

"_This is my dad Percy, my mum Audrey, and my little sister Lucy." _

"_I'm not little." Lucy responded_

"_Right" Molly said as Chase laughed. "This is my boyfriend Chase, and his parents Lavender and Seamus, and his younger brother Chance."_

"_Audrey, your house is very beautiful." Lavender said appreciatively as she hugged Molly's mom. "It looks like something out of a catalogue."_

"_Oh thank you. Home improvement has always been a little hobby of mine."_

"_Her most expensive hobby." He dad joked. "How have you guys been since school?" he asked his parents._

"_Good." Seamus responded. "We both went back after the war to take our N.E.W.T.S, and got married as soon as we could once we graduated."_

"_Aww that's so sweet." Her mother responded. "So Chase, what year are you at Hogwarts?"_

"_This is my fifth." He responded._

"_Are you a prefect?" her dad asked. _Really dad?

"_No sir, I don't think I'm stuck up enough to be one." He said, trying to make a joke. Molly blushed, while all the other adults looked around the room uncomfortably and her dad cleared his throat._

"_I was prefect back when I was at Hogwarts." He said proudly._

"_Oh really? That's-"_

"_Chase is Quidditch captain this year!" Molly interjected trying to change the subject._

"_That's so cool!" Lucy screamed. "I suck at Quidditch!"_

"_I could help you if you want?" Chance offered, clearly bored with dinner._

"_Oh, would you? We have brooms in the shed! Daddy, could we please go play?"_

"_Are you done with your dinner?" Lucy scooped a large bite of mashed potatoes into her mouth and nodded enthusiastically. "Then you can, if it's okay with Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan." They both agreed and the two kids rushed out of the house._

"_Your Lucy is quite the fire-cracker." Seamus said with a laugh. Everyone at the table laughed and then it got uncomfortably quiet as everyone finished eating. "That was delicious Audrey; I might have to come over more often."_

"_You guys have to! Once the kids go back to school it will be so boring in the house." Her mother responded. As if to emphasize her point, the front door opened and all they heard was a chorus of I'm sorry's coming from Lucy. "Lucy Nicole Weasley! What did you do?" The two of them came into view and Chance was holding a bloody nose while Lucy was holding her hand that was also covered in blood._

"_Luce, did you punch him?" Molly asked nervously._

"_No! No! Well yes, but I didn't mean to. I was going really fast and couldn't turn and accidently crashed into him. I was afraid of falling so I grabbed hold of him and hit him by mistake. I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry Chance!"_

"_If you say you're sorry one more time I'm going to explode!"_

"_Sorry!" she said again, making Lavender laugh. Her dad pulled out his wand and cleared the kids of the blood with two flicks of his wand._

"_It's getting late." Chase's mom said between giggles. "We better head home, thank you so much for having us!" Her mom started laughing as well and got up to show them to the door._

"_It certainly was an entertaining evening." She joked. Her dad waved them goodbye and headed upstairs rather rudely. Audrey walked the Finnegan's to their car, while Lucy followed his brother still apologizing to him. She and Chase were stood at the door and she realized they hadn't spoken all evening._

"_This was…"_

"_A disaster." She finished for him. "Sorry about my parents, my dad can be a bit-"_

"_Your parents? God I apologize for mine, I told you my mom was nuts."_

"Oh no, s_he's sweet. But my sister punched your brother in the face; I think the Weasleys win the award for screwing up 'meet the parents'." She said placing her head in her hands._

"_Well at least you didn't openly call my dad stuck up. I think the Finnegan's take the award for this one." She groaned at how awfully the night had gone and he quick hugged her comfortingly. She walked him to the car and waved him goodbye until the car was out of sight. _Disaster.

"_That went well." Her mom commented._

"_Oh really? What dinner party did you just come from?" she asked._

_Her mother laughed and put her arms around Molly's shoulders. "Someday, we'll all be able to laugh about this."  
><em>

* * *

><p>Molly chuckled at the memory of that night as she showered. She had been in the bathroom for a good hour, and if she didn't get out now she'd miss breakfast. As she walked out of the shower humming a tune, not really paying any mind to her surroundings. She wrapped a towel around her body and decided to let her hair air dry a bit before straightening it. When she opened the door that lead to her room, she saw Chase lounging casually on her bed. Molly squealed and ran to the window, closing the curtain around her so that only her feet were showing.<p>

"How'd you get in here?" she asked.

"Good morning to you too!" he said as he made his way to the curtains.

"Don't come any closer!" she shouted, "I don't want you to see me like this!" Molly stuck her hand out of the curtain as a warning, praying that he would just go away.

"See you like what? Wearing a towel? It's not that big of a deal." He said as he walked towards her. He was getting dangerously close so she stuck her foot out hoping to trip him or even distract him for a second.

"It's not the towel; it's just that I don't look my usual self. Or I guess I do look my regular self if you think about it that-"

"Molly, focus!" he said in a way that reminded him of her father. "So what if you've got a pimple or something, it's not going to make me stop loving you." Molly gasped at his statement and pulled her foot and arm back under the curtain. "Please stop being so dramatic, it's too early in the morning."

"You said you love me." She said more to herself than to him. "Or at least I think you did."

"Yes, and-?" he prompted.

"You've never said that before." She whispered. Part of her was happy that he'd finally sad it but another part of her had wished she'd said it first.

"Oh, I forgot."

"Forgot? That you said it or that you love me?"

"That I hadn't said it to you yet. Not while you could hear it at least. I didn't want to say it too soon for fear of- well rejection I guess, but I've been thinking about since that time your dad caught us sneaking out." He said smiling at the memory. "I say it in my head all the time when I'm around you and I've said it a few times when I've watched you sleep. I'm sorry." She could picture him blushing from embarrassment.

"Don't be sorry Chase, I love you too." She said confidently.

"Really?"

"I think I realized it that same night, when I went all crazy on my dad." She said with a laugh.

"Molly, I would really like to kiss you now, but you're making it very difficult as you're hiding behind a curtain." Only then did she remember why she had been trying to get him to leave, but she figured there was no use in hiding anymore; she had just given him her heart so the least she could do was be straight with him.

"I have to tell you something, or show you I guess. I love you, which means I trust you completely and you've been so honest and amazing, it's only fair I am the same way with you." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Well for one, I hate playing Quidditch. I like the cheering and the feeling of winning, but practicing and playing are torturous. I only started when I was 10 because Teddy played and I had a crush on him, and I didn't stop since that was my only form of exercise. So I figured you should know two, I have…um, flaws."

"Flaws?" he asked in a worried tone.

"Yeah, well I don't look- I mean I have- ugh, I should just show you." She slowly pulled the curtains open, making sure that her towel was wrapped securely around her body. She looked at his feet awaiting a response and was a little more than shocked when he started shaking. Shaking with….laughter?" _Brilliant._ He was laughing; and not the kind you do after a corny joke, but the knee slapping kind you only do every once in a while when something is really really funny. She felt something close to rejection cloud over her and only let one tear fall before snapping the curtains shut. She had guessed that he would be a little miffed, but she wouldn't have expected this from the guy that supposedly loves her. "Just go!" she said in a shaky voice. That must've sobered him up because the laughing stopped immediately. "Do I really look that bad?"

"Molly, no. You don't look bad at all." He said reaching out to touch her shoulder through the curtain

"Well, the way you were laughing you'd think I grew a tail or something." He opened the curtains and wrapped her up in a big hug.

"I didn't mean to laugh; I only did because I was so shocked." She felt the tears coming back and he quickly realized his mistake. "Shocked in a good way! You had me so scared. The way you were talking, I was expecting you to be…well I don't even know. But then you show me yourself and you basically look the same."

"But it's _not _the same! I have to work really hard every morning to look the way these other girls look. I spend hours practically burning my hair so it'll be straight, and I use tanning cream so I won't be so pale and god, without make-up I look-"

"Beautiful. Without make up or tanning or anything-just like you are now, you look beautiful. I love you, not your make up or how straight your hair is, _you._"

"I love you." She said on the verge of tears. "Like, a lot." She hugged him tighter and remembered she was still only wearing a towel, which did weird things to her body. She pulled back and saw a look on his face that she couldn't really read. "Sooooo, I'm not hideous?" she teased.

"Far from it." He said blushing. He grabbed a lock of her hair and twirled it around his finger. "I love you Molly Olivia Weasley, and all of your so-called flaws." He kissed the piece of hair he was playing with and let it fall back in place. "Do you have any other flaws I should know about?" He asked looking straight into her eyes with a smirk on his face. She wasn't sure but thought she felt…turned on? _I'll have to ask Vic about that._ It took everything in her to answer him steadily.

"I'm nosy." She said before he placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. "And a drama queen." She added as he kissed her forehead. "And I uh… eat a lot". He kissed her neck and if he hadn't been holding her she would have fallen on the floor. "I...I never um, listen." He nipped her ear quickly before turning his attention back to her neck. At that moment she couldn't think of any other flaws, but none of that seemed to matter.

"Aren't you forgetting one?" He asked in a husky voice. Molly could only shake her head in response. "You talk _way_ too much" He finally kissed her on the lips and had she not responded so forcibly she would have laughed at the irony. It was true that she talked too much, but Chase Finnegan seemed to always find a way to make her speechless with just a look or touch or word. She loved him for that and he loved her back, and it was as simple as that. She was almost void of her towel when she remembered where she was and the time. She broke the kiss and smiled at the boyish pout on his face.

"I've got to get ready for class, we've already missed breakfast."

"We could just stay up here all day. Forget classes, it's not like either of us is failing."

"Yet. It's only the second month of school. Now go, I need to get dressed." He said shoving him out the door. She ran to her bed and screamed into her pillow like a little school girl. She and Chase had never gotten that _close_ before and she hoped they would again sometime very soon. She got dressed and put on her usual make-up, but she left out the tanning cream and let her hair fall in its natural curls, using a flower clip to keep her bangs out of her face. She looked at the mirror and for the first time in a long time she smiled at the reflection; she looked fine. She grabbed her school bag and rushed down the staircase to meet up with Chase. As soon as she got off the bottom step she was tackled to the ground by a skinny boy with orange hair. "Fred, get the hell off of me! Have you gone barmy?" she screamed.

"Sorry Mo, it's for your own good that you don't see this." He said. She would've been angry but she couldn't get past how pathetic she felt for being weaker than a little 11 year old boy. "Nice hair." He added as an afterthought.

"Why were you coming out of the girls' dormitories?" she heard James yell, "Trying to sneak a peek at my innocent, sweet cousin? Well were you?"

"Uh...errr no! I swear I wasn't!" she heard Chase splutter. _What the hell?_

"Well she obviously likes you so I won't force you to stay away from her, but if you hurt her physically or emotionally, we will make sure we hurt you 10,765 times worse. Understand?" he barked. Fred looked up at James and Molly used the opportunity to roll over so that Fred was the one on the floor. She quickly ran to the couches her cousin was sitting on and looked up at what James was looking at when she saw Chase hanging upside down in the air.

"James Potter, what the hell do you think you are doing?" she asked.

"Morning Mo, just having a friendly chat with Mr. Finnegan here." He said feigning innocence.

"For godric's sake, put him down, now!" she ordered, with all the sternness of her namesake. He took what she said literally and let his wand hand fall so that Chase made a quick drop to the ground. She ran over to him praying he wasn't hurt. "The two of you better get your asses to class before I owl your parents and have Vic give you detention. And I don't see the third one but tell her to stop whatever she's doing, because this is over... Now!" she yelled when no one moved. James sighed in defeat and walked over to the boys' staircase.

"Dom! Icks-nay on the udding-pay! I think we got the point across." he called to the third menace. Her little cousin flitted down the stairs wearing a sweet smile that didn't quite look familiar on her face. It wpuld have been sweet-looking if she wasn't such a hellion.

"Morning Molly! Hi Chase!" she said with a wink. _Ugh, stupid veela voodoo._"Look at the time! We better be off to classes." She grabbed Fred and James and they headed toward the portrait laughing.

"See you at Quidditch practice Captain Finnegan!" James called with a salute. "Maybe we can _hang_ out later!" Molly threw a pillow at him but he dodged it and ducked out of the Common room.

"Are you ok?" she asked Chase, "Those three drive me crazy." They stood up slowly and headed for the door.

"Nothing's broken but my dignity." He joked. "James is quite intimidating for an 11 year old. That was worse than Teddy!"

"Oh please, he's a wimp. Wait until you see him when he gets in trouble with his mum." She said laughing. "You should kick him off the team, that'll show him."

"That would only hurt the team really, he's one ofthe best keepers I've seen in years. I don't blame him though." He added thoughtfully.

"For basically man-handling you?" she asked in disbelief.

"No. For being so protective of you. He's your family and he loves you and doesn't want to see you hurt or upset. I feel the exact same way."

"I guess that was kind of sweet" she agreed, "but he's still a demon, you don't even know half of the stuff he's done. He'll probably torture you forever, and I swear they'll pop up any time we want to be alone. They're so embarrassing!" She was already mad at James from just thinking about it.

"So we can just add annoying cousins to your list of not so relevant flaws. I love you either way." They came up to her classroom and it looked like they made it just in time. "Have a good class." He said before kissing her on the cheek.

"You too. Don't run into any more terrifying firsties!" she teased before ducking into the classroom and closing the door. She could hear his laughing as he continued down the hall and smiled as she took her seat next to a Ravenclaw boy.

"Hiya Carson!" she called. Carson Bennett was one of the more popular boys in their year and her friends and his friends kind of formed a group back in their first year. He was really tall and had short black hair that he wore in a tousled way that she believed he did on purpose. He was definitely good looking, and smart, and he and Molly got along really well.

"Look who's gracing us with their presence?" he joked, "We were just about to send out a search party for you."

"Har har." She said sarcastically.

"What's got you smiling today?" he asked as he played with her hair.

"Chase told me he loved me." She said trying to sound as casual as possible. He let go of her har quickly and turned back to the front of the room without saying another word. _What's his problem? _She focused on the front of the room giving Professor Binns as much of her attention as anyone could in History of Magic. She was about to fall asleep when she was hit in the head with a piece of paper. She turned around and saw her friends Madison and Kristina motioning for her to open the paper.

_**We heard about you and Chase! Congrats on finally dropping the L word. Details later?  
>- Mads and Kristy<strong>_

Molly folded the note back up and nodded at the girls with a smile. _How on earth did they know already? _Class continued for what seemed like forever. Molly noticed that Carson was being unusually quiet, which weird was considering they were usually told to stop talking at least three times a class. "What's got your wand in a knot? Are you mad at me?" she asked. She placed her hand over his and when he turned to face her quickly, Molly thought he was about to rip her a new one. He stared into her eyes for a second too long and she felt herself blush involuntarily.

"No, I'm not mad at you." He said with a small smile as he shook his head as if clearing his mind. "I just figured I'd try listening in this class for once, and I failed."

"Well good, because you're one of my very best friends and I _need _to talk. You're the only one that can keep up with me so I could have told you that being quiet was a lost cause."

"Shut up Mouth."

"Right back at you _Car_son. Or should I say Motor mouth! Get it?" she said laughing at her own joke.

"Thank merlin you're cute, or I wouldn't be able to put up with how corny you are."

"Oh shut it, you know you love me." She teased. He pulled his hand from under hers and his ears went bright red. He looked like he was about to respond but the bell chimed and everyone began quickly gathering their things. "See how time flies when you talk?" she asked as she put the last of her things in her bag.

"Yeah. See you at lunch?" he asked.

"Of course. Gryffindor table today." He nodded and walked out the door, leaving her standing alone in the cold classroom. She snapped out of her trance and walked out of the room, heading to head to her next class. She could see Carson in front of her and she wanted to run up and find some excuse to talk to him. She was about to speed up and try to catch him, but a pair of strong arms around her made her snap out of it. "Chase!" she squealed guiltily, thinking of what she had been about to do.

"Geez, you'd think I hadn't seen you in years." He joked. "How was class?"

"Boring. Carson gave me the silent treatment for most of the class period, he was acting really weird." She added for herself, not Chase.

"Yeah? Usually you can't shut that prick up."

"Hey, that's my friend you're talking about!" she said punching lightly.

"That's it Molly! Give him the old one two!" James teased passing by with some other first years from their house. A blonde girl named Linden that Molly had grown quite fond of slapped him on the back of the head and gave him an impressive glare. "Right, sorry about this morning Chase. I was out of line."

"And-"Linden prompted.

"And I'm sorry for interfering Molly. Happy?" he asked the girl who laughed in response. Molly was about to forgive him when someone ran into her, forcing her to lose her balance and fall.

"I'm so sorry Molly!" Roxy called as she picked up her bag. Molly stood up when a boy that looked familiar came around the corner and Roxy squealed before sprinting down the hall while laughing maniacally. The boy ran after her and successfully knocked Molly back onto the ground

"Oi! I see about 6 too many Gryffindors wandering the halls." Vic called from the end of the hall. "Well move!" she yelled, and most of them scattered quickly. "What are you doing on the floor Molly? Get to class." She said as she turned the corner.

"You see what I have to put up with? I bet you lived a peaceful life before you decided to fall in love with me." she said as Chase pulled her off the ground again.

"You're worth it." He said sweetly.

"We'll see how long that lasts." She joked. Molly walked into class and barely even paid attention to anything the portrait of her potions teacher said. Blithe, who was one of very few friends from Slytherin, prodded her with questions about Chase the entire period.

"Ugh, I'm so jealous. You're the most popular girl in our year, you're gorgeous, AND you have the most perfect boyfriend ever?" she gushed. "It must suck to be Molly Weasley." She said sarcastically. Molly laughedat her crazy friend but seriously considered what she had said. Molly knew, of course, that nobody was perfect, but right now she didn't want her life to be any other way. It _was _perfect, crazy cousins and all; and she hoped it was going to stay that way.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Happy belated Fourth of July! HP7 part 2 is coming out in like 8 days! aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh :-)**


	16. I Feel Pretty

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty  
>I feel pretty and witty and bright<br>And I pity any girl who isn't me tonight  
>I feel charming, oh so charming<br>It's alarming how charming I feel  
>And so pretty that I hardly can believe I'm real"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_Roxy walked down the hall with as much confidence as she could seeing as everyone staring at her. People had been acting really strange around her lately; the name calling had stopped, but now people looked at her like they'd never seen her before. It was ridiculous really. She finally made her way to the library, and walked to a table in the farthest corner. She pulled out her Charms text book and buried herself behind its pages so she was studying and hiding at the same time. Roxy had almost gotten into the content of the book when someone noisily pulled out the seat across from her. She looked up to see Grayson Goyle staring at her with that stupid Slytherin grin on his face. Roxy hadn't intended on the two of them becoming close; but after their little run in on her first day he kept popping up every now and then and she just never told him to go away. Somewhere between then and now they had found companionship in teasing and bothering each other. _

"_Roxy! Roxy! Roxy!" he chanted like a fan at a Quidditch game._

"_If it isn't the President of the Roxanne Weasley fan club." She teased, setting her book down on the table._

"_You wish." He sneered. "What are up to on this lovely morning?"_

"_Minding my own business if that's okay with you. Shouldn't you be on your way to a class or something?"_

"_Shouldn't you?"_

"_Touché." As soon as she said that a couple of boys walked past her with weird looks on their faces. She quickly ducked behind her book waiting for the boys to pass._

"_Are you actually even reading that textbook?"_

"_Not really, I just wanted to get away from the stares. Do I look weird today or something?" she asked thoughtfully._

"_Quite the opposite." he responded. "Speaking as a third party outsider that views you as nothing more than a younger classmate…you're hot stuff now Roxy." She started laughing but noticed he wasn't kidding with her._

"_You're not joking! Who thinks that?" she asked._

"_Who doesn't? A lot of blokes have even been calling you Foxy Roxy." He added before snickering. She stared at him in disbelief. "Some people have gone as far as to say you're the prettiest Weasley girl."_

"_I don't believe you." She said stubbornly._

"_You don't have to believe me, but it's true. Don't you look in the mirror?" he asked._

"_Not nearly as much as most fourteen year old girls do." She said. He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly before conjuring a mirror. _

"_Have a look for yourself." he said shoving the thing towards her. She caught it with her hand and sent it right back to him. _

"_Get that thing away from me Goyle!" she yelled a little too loudly. He slid it back to her side of the table and this and this time she picked it up while eyeing it skeptically. She shook her head and thrust the mirror back at the boy._

"_Aw come on! It's just a mirror, it won't kill you!"_

"_I don't know that." she huffed. He slid the mirror back towards her and she picked it up slowly. She lifted it to her face while reaching for her wand from her pocket at the same time. Instead of looking into it she pointed her wand at it and sent it flying towards Goyle. Not expecting her reaction he looked into the mirror and it squirted a rainbow of paint colors onto his face. "My father makes these you dolt, I can't believe you thought you'd get me that easily."_

"_You're sharp Weasley, but are you fast?" he asked raising an eyebrow. Before she could respond he was out of his seat and coming at her. Even though she knew he was joking, he had a murderous look in his eyes and she whirled out of her chair as fast as she could and bolted out of the library. She ran like her life depended on it and was a good distance ahead of Grayson. She passed Vic before turning a corner and entering a crowded hallway. She tried to duck and weave through the little group but ran into someone. Her bag fell on the ground along with one of her cousins. "I'm so sorry Molly!" she said while she pulled her things in her bag. She saw Grayson rounding the corning and continued running down through the castle. _

_She was running out of places to turn and Goyle was gaining on her more and more. She stopped and bent over to catch her breath. It took about five seconds before he caught up with her, and when he saw her resting he collapsed against the wall immediately. "Holy hell you're a fast little bugger!" he said panting_

"_You asked!" she replied. "And you should probably work out more."_

"_Shut it Weasley."_

"_Aww don't be mad. Now get up, we have classes." She said holding out her hand to him. He took her hand and she used all her strength to pull up the older boy who still had a rainbow painted on his face._

"_Yeah, classes." He said as he dragged his feet toward the Astronomy Tower, "You just go look at a mirror track star."_

"_You too!"  
><em>

* * *

><p>Roxy tugged on the hemline of her skirt for what felt like the millionth time that day. She was still failing to see the good part about puberty, or growing up as her father had asked her to say. Sure, she had grown into her features and gotten a bit taller; and so what if she had grown to a c cup practically overnight? It didn't make up for the stares and whistling, or crude jokes or the sudden increase of her brother being in detention for "defending her honor", which only got her in trouble for not looking after him better. Growing up was getting old <em>real <em>fast. Nobody was prepared for her sudden transformation so she hadn't been able to buy school robes that fit properly or at all. All of her tops were tight in the chest area and showed her midsection when she lifted her arms or bent over; even though bending over wasn't really in her repertoire anymore considering her skirts were so short lately that you'd see her bum. Roxy just couldn't win; at first her looks made her an outcast and now they made her stand out.

Roxy kicked the mirror she was looking in and walked into the common room to take her usual seat on the couch. A fourth year boy walked by and wolf whistled at her. "You look damn good in that uniform Roxy." He said with a wink.

"And you look like an idiot with your mouth hanging open," she replied using a sickeningly sweet voice that she stole straight from her Aunt Ginny's book. "I'm sure you can find something else to do. So do it!" He quickly scurried off and almost knocked into Molly.

"Watch it! You ok Rox?" she asked, "You seem a bit put out."

"Boy problems." She said.

"With who?" Victoire asked taking her seat next to Roxy.

"All of them. They've got it in their heads that I'm all of a sudden... attractive or something. It's ridiculous right?" Vic shook her head with a small smile on her face.

"You've always been attractive Roxy, but now you're growing up and all those people that were looking at you as a little girl are looking at you as a woman."

"A woman? I'm barely fourteen." she said loudly.

"I've only been fourteen two months more than you and do you see me complaining?" Molly pressed, "You should be happy, you're a natural beauty; all those idiots that used to make fun of you are going to be knocking each other over to ask you out now. And with those boobs! I'd be doing backflips."

"Alright, first of all, ew. And second of all we can prevent these guys from bothering you Rox." Her brother said as he joined them followed by James and Dom.

"Thanks, but you've done enough. If you get in trouble one more time we're _both _out of here."

"I'm just saying; you say the word and I'll make it so that all these wankers don't have anything to wank."

"Fred, watch your mouth!" Vic said holding back a laugh. "When did you boys get so protective?"

"If I hear another boy talking about you in _that way_ I'm going to have to kill them or myself." Fred said

"Don't be so dramatic Fred." Dom warned. "At least you don't have to hear about how dreamy and handsome you and James are supposed to be."

"Well we can't help that." James said arrogantly.

"You know what guys, don't worry." She said wanting to change the subject. "I'll just deal with it." She got up from her seat, leaving her family to themselves. She left the common room and took the longest route she could think of to get to the Great Hall.

"Hi Roxy!" a girl she never met before called.

"Hey!" she responded politely.

"How are you Roxy? You look nice today!" a boy from her year that used to call her a shrimp said. She smiled in response and walked a little faster.

"Hey Roxy! Wait up!" she heard a voice call. "Why the hell are you walking so fast?" Goyle asked.

"Sorry, I didn't notice. When I get deep in thought I'm like a zombie." She said apologizing.

"You really are fast Roxanne; you should consider trying out for those Olympus Games or whatever."

"It's Olympics you idiot. I didn't know Slytherin's paid attention to such lowly muggle sports." She teased lightly.

"Hey, I'm not just a Slytherin; I'm a human too. Aren't you Gryffindor's supposed to be all self-righteous and non-judgy?" he asked. "Although, I always have thought you should have been a Slytherin, you're way too cool for G-house" Roxy waited for the punch line of his joke but only silence followed his statement.

"Grayson Cornell Goyle, did you just give me a compliment?" he shook his head as if that was the craziest idea. "Yes you did, you said I was cool." Roxy began doing her happy dance and humming so she could tune him out while he tried to take back the compliment

"No, I said you were too cool for Gryffindor. They're all a bunch of losers, so that doesn't make you much cooler." He said as she continued to sway her hips rhythmically.

"Hubba hubba!" some random boy called from across the hall, interrupting her personal jam session.

"Who was that?" Grayson asked.

"The hell if I know, however I do remember him calling me a zebra my first year." She said laughing.

"A zebra? Wow, cruel world."

"You're one to talk; I'm pretty sure you called me a hybrid my first night here."

"And I said I was sorry."

"No you didn't. You've just been popping up whenever I'm alone for the past three years and bugging me."

"But look where that got us, we're the best of friends now. Right?" he joked.

"Tight as a slip knot." She said rolling her eyes. "_Are_ we friends?" she asked suddenly curious. She tried not to sound too skeptical because it wasn't like she had that many friends either. Aside from the Quidditch team and her family (which made up most of the Quidditch team), she hadn't gotten to know many people at her school. She used to hide behind the whole "people will treat you differently" thing; but the others in the family seemed to be dealing with it just fine. Teddy was the first to go to Hogwarts so he was kind of forced to make friends on his own, Vic had her best friend, and James, Fred and Dom had made friends quickly. Even Princess Molly had her little "crew" of friends as well. (Roxy had always called them groupies just to annoy Molly). It was basically just the 7 best-looking people from all of the houses in their year, and though the premise behind the group was rather shallow; it had actually grown to a true friendship over the years. So if he said no, that meant-

"I suppose so." He said as if he was trying out the feeling of sying he had a friend.

"Well good. Are you going to Hogsmead this weekend?"

"Not with you." He replied quickly. It would have been rude, but she understood where he was coming from. He wasn't exactly her type either.

"Of course not with me you big oaf, I meant in general."

"Oh, well it's not really my thing."

"I kind of guessed, would you ever consider going? If it was with the right girl?" she asked. Maybe she could set him up with someone.

"What are you getting at?" he asked nervously.

"Oh, nothing. Just making conversation." She replied, although the gears in her head were turning. Maybe she could talk to one of his friends and find out what his type is or if he fancies anyone. "Do you have many other friends? I never see you hanging around with anyone."

"Not really." He said. "Aside from you the only people I really talk to are my housemates and I wouldn't really consider those friendships. We speak to each other because it's the polite thing to do, not because we want to talk." He said shrugging

"So I'm your only friend then?" She said as a statement more than a question; she already knew the answer.

"You're the only person I know thus far that I would consider a friend, yes." She smiled at the way he always had to say things in such a pompous tone. She threw her arms around him in a hug so quickly that he didn't have time to push her off of him. He let her hug him back for a while, then she backed away knowing that that was probably one of few hugs he's ever gotten in his life. "Yeah, we're gonna have to keep that to a minimum." He said through laughs as he opened the doors to the Great Hall.

"You'll get used to it."

"I highly doubt that. See you later Roxy." He pushed her lightly before walking to the Slytherin table and she made her way to sit with her house. She walked to the middle of the table where 5 faces were looking at her with confused expressions.

"What took you so long?" her brother asked, "you left like 10 minutes before us."

"Did you just walk in with Grayson Goyle? Was he smiling?" Vic asked.

"Oh that's his name!" Molly said. "I knew he looked familiar, isn't he the one that was bullying you your first day?" Roxy rolled her eyes and looked at James and Dom next.

"Well, don't you two have anything to say? I thought we were playing 21 questions?"

"Yeah," Dom said laughing, "Are you going to sit down?" Roxy realized she was just standing in the middle of the room as she thought about the question for a minute.

"Actually no, I'm going to sit with some friends tonight."

"What friends?" Molly asked, as if she knew every single person Roxy had ever talked to. Roxy stuck her tongue out at Molly and walked to the far end of the table where she thankfully recognized some people from her year. She took a seat in front of one of her dorm mates named Chandler and began piling food on a plate. She snuck a look at her cousins who were watching her as she had expected. _Idiots; It's not like they're the only people I know. _She joined in the laughter of the people around her making them all realize she was there. They all looked at her and she figured she should maybe say something.

"Hey, I'm Roxanne." Was what she came up with. _Really? Like they didn't know that._

"Are you now?" Chandler said laughing. They'd been cordial the whole time they'd been at Hogwarts, but they had only really spoken when they were about to go to sleep or if they needed help on homework. "What has gotten into you lately? You've been acting weird."

"It's the boobs, I swear! They make you crazy; don't ever wish for them." She joked. Chandler had spent most of last year praying fervently for her breasts to grow and boy did they grow. She then spent the remainder of the year begging Roxy to ask her dad to create a reduction charm.

"Har har. But seriously Roxy, you need to get over it. You're a hottie and you should embrace it like I do."

"More like flaunt it." She joked. "I don't think I could."

"Listen. You're insanely pretty, you have a great body, you're a Quidditch star AND you can hang with the guys. You're freaking amazing!" Roxy laughed at the girl's excitement and then thought of a question she'd been wondering all week.

"Well if I'm so amazing, why don't I have a boyfriend?"

"Honestly, most boys in our year are pretty pathetic. Carina Vasquez had to ask Warren Underwood to the Hogsmead visit this weekend herself. Are you going?"

"Me? Of course not, who would I go with?" she asked.

"Well," Chandler said with a devilish smirk on her face. "I happen to know for a fact that my cousin fancies you. Hey Brighton!" she called suddenly, before ducking under the table. He turned his head their direction looking annoyed, until he locked eyes with Roxy, who was thanking her lucky stars that you couldn't see her blush with her brown skin. He stood from his seat and walked over to where they were seated with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey!" he said shyly, "you wanted me?" Roxy waited for Chandler to come out of hiding and say 'boo' or something, but all she got was a kick in the shin; oh yeah, she was going to pay for that.

"Yeah…um, Chandler and I were supposed to be going into Hogsmead together this weekend but then…then Grayson Goyle asked her to go and she just couldn't refuse the offer. I'd hate to be the third wheel, but I would really like to go, would you go with me? We could double."

"Really? Uh…Yeah, that'd be cool." He answered. "I didn't know Chan fancied Goyle." He said to Chandler, who came out from under the table nodding unconvincingly.

"It was a spur of the moment thing." Roxy replied with a wink. _Where'd that come from?_

"Right." He responded with a smile.

"See you around Brighton."

"Yeah, see you." Roxy was about to do her really embarrassing happy dance and was glad she didn't when Brighton suddenly turned back around. "Oh, a few of us are throwing a party tomorrow night and it'd be awesome if you came. I mean, I know you usually don't come to these things but-"

"Uhhh no, no I'd love to go. See you there." He gave her a smile before gathering his things and leaving with a group of his friends. She had successfully flirted with a boy on her first try in a very uncomfortable situation. That had to require some kind of skill.

"Great, now you'll just go to Hogsmead and tell him Goyle and I decided not to go because we realized what a ridiculous and impossible idea the whole thing was." Chandler said.

"Oh no no no, you're going with Goyle for real. Otherwise, I think I may be coming down with something this weekend." She said faking a cough.

"Oh come on, how do you even know he'll want to go with me?" _He probably won't._ "We don't even know each other!"

"Well, you've got a whole date this Saturday to learn all you need to about each other. It should be lovely." She said, leaving her roommate sitting there groaning. So maybe growing up wasn't going to be such a bad thing. All in one day she'd gotten a little self-esteem, an invite to a party, a date for Hogsmead, and…well it had been a really good day. But were all the changes in her life _only_ happening because of how her looks had changed? She really hoped not; because if she didn't know anything else about being pretty it didn't take a genius to know that looks fade.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Three snaps for HP7 part 2! It was really good considering they pretty much did nothing in part one! But I loved it, yaayyyy!**

**-Jazz**


	17. Lucky

"They don't know how long it takes  
>Waiting for a love like this<br>Every time we say goodbye  
>I wish we had one more kiss<br>I'll wait for you, I promise you I will"

-Jason Mraz

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Victoire had everything planned out for today. It would be her last time seeing Teddy before he went off to America, and she wanted to make it count. The plan was to dress in an outfit that showed enough for Teddy to notice, and covered enough so that her dad wouldn't notice. When she got to her Grandmother's house she would let everyone say hello, eat some food, then sneak Teddy away so she could tell him she was ready to be in a relationship and that she loved him, and then, finally, they would share their first kiss and he would leave for America thinking only of her and barely hanging on to life until they saw each other again. It should be simple enough if she could just stay focused and stick to her plan. Her father always tried to tell her you can't plan out your life because you'd just end up disappointed in the end, but she disagreed. Wasn't life, in general, God's plan? And it seemed to have worked out for him. Although, she didn't know if all of that counted in the wizarding world; she'd only known about it because she'd gone to a church with her Aunt Hermione once._

_Abandoning her 'deep' thoughts she took a deep breath as she walked up to the door of the Burrow with her family. Teddy opened the door and politely greeted her siblings and parents while she stood there gawking at him like an idiot. Since the last time she saw him he had grown a small beard that looked freshly shaven and it looked like he'd used gel to style his short hair in a Mohawk-like style. It should not be fair for someone to be that perfect. There were really inappropriate thoughts creeping into her head as he picked her up in a huge bear hug. He smelled great and only the watchful eye of the family kept her from kissing him right then. _

"_Vic, it's been forever! You look amazing!" he said slowly looking her up and down._

"_Really? Thanks, I just threw this on." she lied. Her outfit had been so meticulously planned that it was ridiculous. "You look good too; who told you to go and get all grown up on me?"_

"_I could say the same about you." He said before slowly moving a piece of her hair behind her ear. His fingers brushed her face ever so slightly and she could have passed out; and she just knew they were about to have their first kiss._

"_Teddy! Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to come play with us?" Lily yelled from the stairs. "Teddy, I need you!" She could almost see the big brother gears turning in his head and knew he was debating between kissing her and playing with the kids. They were a lot alike in that way; always trying to make everyone happy._

"_I have to go, or else she'll-"_

"_No need to explain, she's pretty irresistible." She said with a smile. It was very true; Lily could make an atheist go to church if she wanted them to._

"_You're even more irresistible though." He said with a wink before going inside. She closed the door and made her way inside with the most embarrassing blush on her face; it would take her a while to get used to seductive side of Teddy. So what if Teddy had been whisked away right before their big moment? She still had plenty of time before she needed to steal him away and make her move. She heard laughing, talking, arguing, and a bunch of other sounds coming out of the house that just meant family. You had to be in the family to understand it; they didn't all get along with each other all the time and they fought and argued but they'd do anything for one another in a heartbeat._

"_Victoire? What are you doing just standing in the hallway?" she heard someone ask. She turned around and saw that her favorite aunt had just walked in with her two kids._

"_Aunt Hermione!" she screamed before running and giving her a hug. _

"_Hey Rose bud! Hugo!" she said to her little cousins who dashed right past her to play with the other kids. "Where's Uncle Ron?" she asked._

"_On my nerves all time, so I'm sure he'll be here shortly. But I want to catch up! Shall we go have a little girl talk?" Vic nodded and followed her Aunt out to the garden, where they took a seat on one of the swinging couches. "So, I've noticed you and Teddy are a little closer than usual. How did it go last year?"_

"_It was…well, I think it's safe to say I completely misinterpreted your advice. And I mean I really, really butchered it." She confessed._

"_So did your Aunt Ginny" Hermione responded with a small laugh, "Did you date almost half of the male population at school too?"_

"_She did that?" She'd always thought they'd had that cliché boy meets girl story, but it would appear not. "I didn't date a bunch of guys; it was just one."_

"_Damarco Zabini."_

"_I figured you'd already know him; I think you adults gossip a lot more than we do. But anyway, at first with Marc it was all snogging and attraction that kept us together, but then he turned out to be sweet and kind and completely opposite from what people thought; and I started liking him." She said solemnly, remembering her first boyfriend._

"_I see." Her Aunt responded carefully, "But what was going on with Teddy throughout this?"_

"_It seemed like Teddy had a different opinion on it every second. When I first told him he seemed ok with it, and even moved practice so I could go on a date with Marc. I was so happy to have a date that I didn't even remember I should've been upset that Ted let me go so easily. Then he got really angry when he learned we were officially dating. He was yelling and he called me a few names and it was pretty awful; but he apologized a few days later and I forgave him. And this part is the worst" she warned her Aunt who nodded in understanding._

"_Well, Marc planned a proper date for me in the Room of Requirement. It was set up like my favorite French restaurant and everything looked so special. It's like I could sense that something big was about to happen but wasn't quite sure what it would be. He told me he loved me but I couldn't say it back so I kissed him instead. I think he took that as an 'I love you too' and things got uh…"_

"_Heated?" Hermione suggested._

"_Yeah, heated. We had never gotten that intense before and there was so much going through my mind at the time that I didn't even hear it when I called him Teddy by accident." She heard her aunt gasp and gave an assuring nod._

"_Oh dear, well what happened next?"_

"_I cried. A lot. Then I started blabbering about making myself love him and stuff and he just held me while I cried. I felt so bad I didn't even notice that he carried me to my room and everything after that was a blur… and then I woke up to Teddy." Retelling the story was like going through it all over again; and it hadn't been easy the first time. "After that he told me he loved me, and Merlin knows I'd been waiting for so long to hear that and to say it back properly but-"_

"_You had just ended a relationship with a guy who also loved you; and it hadn't gone too well when he'd said it." Victoire sighed and rested her head on her aunt's shoulder._

"_Yeah. But we promised to love each other forever and he told me he'd wait until I was ready to be with him because we were to be together. But now there's the whole America thing."_

"_America? What do you have to do with America?"_

"_Well I practically shoved him out the door myself. I was trying to be supportive, even though that really isn't what I wanted, but now…I mean, he's going to be in America! There are other girls in America!"_

"_There are other girls everywhere, dear. But from what I hear it doesn't look like he'll be changing his mind about you."_

"_You never know though, right?" she said putting out her lip._

"_Oh pretty girl, you know; you'll always know." She said rubbing Vic's back. Her aunt had a point; she couldn't really explain it, but to her it felt like there was something more than the words 'I love you' holding them together. It seemed like they were bonded by a power that they had no control over; like they were each other's destinies. However, something was still bothering her about their situation._

"_Well there's one more thing." She added. "When Teddy and I had that argument back in May, he said something that I can't stop thinking about."_

"_Like what?"_

"_Part of the reason he didn't want me to be with Marc was because he was two years older, but they're the same age. What if he thinks I'm too young for him?"_

"_He doesn't." Hermione answered confidently, making her feel stupid for saying that. "You guys were in the middle of an argument and he was angry. If Ron and I meant everything we said during an argument, we'd have killed each other by now. Teddy more than likely used that as an excuse since he didn't realize the real reason he didn't want Marc to be with you was because he wanted you to be with him. Stop worrying yourself, everything's going to be fine."_

"_I suppose you're right, but-"_

"_Victoire Weasley, get your arse up here this instant!" she heard a little girl yell from an upstairs window._

"_Lily Luna Potter! Watch your mouth missy." Ginny answered. Victoire and Hermione laughed at the exchange as she looked up at the sky. The sun was already starting to set, which meant she didn't have much more time to get to Teddy._

"_I guess that's my cue to go. Thanks for the talk!" She said to her aunt before walking up the stairs to meet with the demanding little girl. "Lily, what on earth do you want with me so badly that you had to make your mother angry?"_

"_Sorry Vicky, but Teddy's leaving. We need you to take his place in exploding snap." _

"_He's leaving? Already?" she didn't even wait for the girl to answer before she was running down the stairs and out of the door. When she got outside she spotted him walking down the narrow path that led to the main road and sped up even faster. "Teddy!" she yelled at the boy. Where the hell did he think he was going? He turned and faced her just in time so that when she caught up to him she wouldn't have to jump on his back like a crazy woman. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"_

"_How'd you know I left?" he asked with a guilty look on his face._

"_Lily told me. You were just going to leave without saying goodbye?"_

"_No, I didn't want to have to say goodbye; I never ever want to say goodbye to you." He said as he bent down and rested his forehead on hers. She didn't want to say goodbye to him either, but she clearly had to be the sensible one today._

"_It's not goodbye forever Ted, it's just for now. We'll see each other on some of the Hogsmeade visits and we'll be fine." She reassured both of them._

"_We better." _

"_We will. I love you Teddy."_

"_I love you too." He said before kissing the tip of her nose. She loved it when he said that. "See you soon."_

"_See you, and don't forget to owl me as soon as you get there! Don't put it past me to apparate straight to America and hunt you down." She warned only half-way joking._

"_Maybe I won't write just so you can come find me."_

"_Yeah, and I'll bring my father and Molly with me." she threatened before hugging him one last time. "Now, go! You're terrible at stalling."_

"_Fine, when did you get so sassy?" he said before turning back down the path to the main road. When he got to the end of the street he turned and waved quickly before waving on last time and apparating. So her plan hadn't gone perfectly, but- _

"_Oh shit, I forgot my kiss!" She slapped herself on the forehead and stomped her foot like a little girl before trudging back up to the house; she needed more time but she wasn't going to get it any time soon. This was going to be a long 3 months.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Victoire had been sitting in the Three Broomsticks for 3 hours now, and she was feeling murderous. Either Teddy was really late or he had forgotten about her; neither of which was better than the other. After all this time a part he was wasting the precious time they'd have together. She would kill him if he ever showed up. There was something really pathetic about sitting in a pub alone, waiting for a boy that's way out of your league to come hang out with you for a little while. She really wished her Aunt Hermione was here; she had an insane internal clock and would be able to tell her how long is acceptable to wait for a guy. Then Vic wouldn't have to feel so foolish waiting here for her not-even-boyfriend. Just as she was about to leave she heard the door open and a couple come in laughing quite obnoxiously. It was the straw that broke the camel's back; she had waited long enough. She jumped up and headed for the door but when she passed the couple the guy caught her by the arm.<p>

"Vic, where are you going?" a familiar voice asked.

"Teddy? Oh my god, Teddy!" she said as she hugged him tightly. _So much for being murderous._

"I'm sorry I'm so late, but this is Jo's first time in the UK and I wanted to show her around a bit. You don't mind, right?"

"Jo?" Victoire asked as she looked at the girl Teddy had brought with him. She was tall and scarily tan and her big brown hair was falling in huge curls that were held into pigtails on the ends. Worst of all she looked…old. It was all just unnerving.

"Oh right. Vic this is Jordalyse, Jordalyse this is my friend Vic." _Your friend?_

"Nice to meet you, but please call me Jo." She said in a country accent as she batted her eyelashes and waved. It was like she had walked right out of a really low budget country-western movie. Vic held out her hand but the girl shook her head. "No handshakes, we might as well hug since we _clearly_ have the same taste."

"Good, we're all friends now. Let's sit." Teddy said not noticing the rude comment. They walked back towards the table she had been sitting at and she almost fainted when Teddy pulled out that wenches chair for her. She waited for him to come do the same for her but he plopped down in his seat, leaving her standing there stupidly. "So Vic, what's been going on?"

"Um, not much really; just school and Quidditch and stuff. How about you?" she asked politely, although all she really wanted to do was run out of there as fast as she could- with Teddy of course.

"The U.S. is…I mean there aren't even words for it. Everything is so fast paced and modern; you have to come visit me sometime if you get a chance. I've met so many great people at the program too; it's been a great first few months. At first I was being all mopey and home-sick, but then good old Jo pulled me out of my funk." _I bet she did_.

"I do what I can." The wench said, obviously flirting with him. "So Vic, you're still in school? How's your last year going?"

"I'll let you know next year, when it's my last."

"Oh, you're a sixth year. So that makes you like, 16?" she said in a bitchy/disgusted voice.

"17."

"Oh, how precious. I remember when I was that young."

"Do you? I'd always thought people started losing their memory when they got around your age. I hear the 40's can be rough, but you seem to be getting on fine." She quipped.

"I'm 23."

"And I'm 19!" Teddy interjected, his hair slowly turning red. "Vic, can I please talk to you outside alone?"

"Certainly." She didn't know exactly what had just happened in there, but she was about to figure it out. They got out the door and she rounded on him immediately. "What the hell was that?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Why'd you have to start on her like that Vic?"

"I don't know if you just left the same place as me but she definitely started it. 'Clearly we have the same taste'" she mimicked in that girls stupid country voice.

"She meant your taste in clothes." He said stupidly.

"No, she meant our taste in boys; I don't dress like that. Never mind that, I can't even believe you brought her here in the first place."

"She's just a friend that wanted to visit."

"Oh, is she a friend? Because if I remember correctly I'm the only one that got introduced as a friend today. And pulling her chair out for her?"

"I'm trying to be nice."

"No, you're trying to have me march my too young ass right back up to that castle and wish I'd never come to see you in the first place." She instantly regretted saying what she did when she saw the look on his face change so quickly. "Look, all I wanted was to see you; I've been bugging my roommates about it for weeks now and I had it all planned out. We were going to have a drink and catch up, then I was going to tell you how much I missed you and that I'm ready for us to be together. Hopefully you would have agreed, then we were gonna have our first real kiss. But now I'm not sure that's such a good idea seeing as I'd hate to blur the line of our friendship." She finished her rant with dignity and was now staring into his eyes waiting for him to yell or something. Instead he grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her deeply. As much as she wanted to stay mad at him but at the moment she couldn't even remember her last name. He pulled away and she felt a little dizzy, so it was a good thing he was holding her so tightly.

"I don't think you know how long I've been waiting to do that." He whispered breathlessly.

"Trust me, I know. So does this mean that we're…you know, together now?" she asked, trying not to get her hopes up too high.

"I surely hope so." He said as his hair turned her favorite shade of blue.

"What is that color? Recently your hair just started turning blue; is everything ok?"

"I'm not sure, but I think that color means- or I guess I should say the color _is_ you. The first time I realized I love you my hair stayed this color all night. It took me a while to figure out how to control it, but generally whenever I think about you it turns blue; like your eyes."

"That's so sweet" she said before kissing him; she would never get enough of kissing him. "I think it would be even sweeter if my boyfriend would talk to me inside, where there's heat. And can we get rid of Polly Anna? I mean, Jo?" she said feigning innocence.

"Hey, be nice!" he warned before kissing her once more. "I do apologize for bringing her though, that was a really stupid idea."

"It's ok. You were just being the nice, sometimes clueless, person you are." They walked back into the Three Broomsticks hand in hand and if she didn't have an extremely hot, older boyfriend she would be jumping up and down and squealing like mad. She and Teddy were together now, and nothing could dampen her mood; except maybe the 130 pounds of hair, make-up and bones sitting at the table glaring daggers at her. "Sorry we kept you waiting so long Jo; we had a few things we needed to work out." She winked at him and could see the tips of his hair turning that crazy blue; her blue. Jo cleared her throat, interrupting their little silent exchange.

"It's not a problem at all honey." She dragged out. "But unfortunately we need to be heading back. We have a test to study for and you know what happened during our last all-night study session." Victoire was about to raise hell, but Teddy must have sensed her anger because he held her hand tighter before jumping in the conversation.

"We only fell asleep." He said shrugging. Clearly it wasn't a big deal because his hair wasn't changing from his current black with blue spikes. _Do you see that lady? He's so mine._

"Yes, but then we didn't get enough studying done. So you ready Ted?" she practically begged with her eyes.

"He's a big boy Jo; he can go when he wants." She said trying to sound nonchalant. She honestly could not believe how desperate this woman was being; she wasn't even worth being jealous over.

"I'm aware of that but he's my travelling buddy; we came together so he could show me around and everything." She just wouldn't stop being so insufferable and it was pushing Vic to her limit. A few more stupid comments and she'd be at that breaking point that she only reached once in a blue moon.

"Yeah, I don't see what's keeping you from going alone, is your wand broken or something? I mean, apparition isn't a myth."

"Whatever. I'll be waiting outside Teddy; it was…interesting meeting you Victoire."

"Wasn't it though? Good luck on your test!" she said as she waved until that fail of a cougar was out the door. She turned to her boyfriend and put on a puppy dog face that Lily would have killed to be able to pull off. "Do you really have to go?" she asked him. He laughed and gave her a long kiss, successfully removing the pout from her face.

"It's truly amazing how you can go from scary to sweet that quickly. Really, that's a valuable talent." He joked.

"Oh shut up, I couldn't help it! I _just_ got you and some older woman tries to steal you away. You'd be jealous too if Bobby Bobmeister waltzed in here asking me to go practice spells with him or something in the middle of our date."

"Bobby Bobmeister?" he asked, failing to hold back a laugh. "Look, I see where you're coming from but there's no need for you to be worried. The fact that we're just now officially together doesn't mean a thing to me. I've been yours forever, got that Weasley?"

"Got it." She said with a smile. Aside from him being late, and bringing another girl, and their little mini-fight, it had been a really good day. "I really love you, did you know that?"

"I might have heard it somewhere before." She leaned in to kiss him once more but he placed a finger over her lips. "Believe me, it's killing me that I can't stay here with you, but I have to go back."

"I know me too. I've kept Bobby Bobmeister waiting long enough." She teased.

"We can't have that." He said with a playful laugh, "Did you want me to walk you back to the castle?"

"No I can manage; Lexie's waiting for me anyway. See you at Christmas?"

"See you then." He replied as he kissed her on the forehead. He turned around to walk towards the girl waiting for him on a bench but whirled around quickly and made his way back towards where Vic was standing. He bent down so that his lips were barely touching her ear, "By the way, I think Jealous Vic is hot." He whispered so softly that she wasn't sure if she'd imagined it. He ran back towards Jo and grabbed her shoulder before apparating quickly, leaving Vic standing there stunned. That would definitely hold her over until Christmas.


	18. Don't Forget To Remember Me

"I feel so small sometimes in this big old place  
>Yeah, I know theres more important things, but<br>Don't forget to remember me"

-Carrie Underwood

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_Being in a large family is not all it's cracked up to be. Sure there was always one to ten someone's around, but that was a negative in his opinion. The more people around, the louder it gets, and Al was not a loud person. His cousins were the loudest people to ever roam the earth, so there was really no need for him to try and compete. He usually just sat back and let everyone else speak, often resulting in going places he didn't want to go, eating things he didn't like, and doing things he didn't want to do. There were a few benefits to big families though. It was so many of them that most times the adults couldn't keep up with them all at once; also their personalities were so different that you could really get almost anything done. Lily could get you anything you want, Rose and Roxy could talk you out of the worst situations, and you could pretty much blame anything on James and get away with it._

_He used to say his family wasn't that bad, but of course his family had to go and prove him wrong on the last day of their summer trip. Here he sat on the front porch of their beach house waiting for someone in his family to realize that they had left without him. He had been the first one to the port key and waited 10 minutes before all of the others got outside. A few minutes before they were scheduled to leave, Lucy and Molly had gotten into an argument over some magazine of Molly's that had gone missing, which reminded him of a book that he'd left lying under his bed. He told his mom he was going back inside and she'd responded with a quick "Okay honey" which, looking back on it probably wasn't what she meant. Al ran back inside of the house and had the book in his hand within 3o seconds. He ran back out of the house making sure to shut the door behind himself and headed towards his family when he saw a jumble of red heads and loud noises disappear into thin air._

_His cousins and siblings often asked why he was so moody all of the time, but it was things like this that had made him the way he is. This was the first time he'd been left in another country, but it wasn't the first time he'd been forgotten in some way. When they pulled names for their Secret Santa, they had forgotten to put his name in the hat and he watched as they spent 20 minutes trying to figure out whose name was missing. There was also the time that his mother and father were supposed to meet with his teacher about his grades and behavior-which were both perfect- but had to cancel because neither had remembered to show. His parents usually didn't even apologize when they did things like this. His dad would try and make a bad joke out of the situation, and his mum would usually be frustrated at him for reasons he couldn't quite understand._

_His first thought as he stood in the sand family-less was that it had been some kind of joke, but after 10 minutes of solitude on the island he accepted the fact that they were really gone. A smaller family would have noticed that one of their three children was not at home, but one kid of 13 missing was definitely harder to notice. Things at The Burrow were probably so hectic right now that they wouldn't even realize he wasn't there for a while. That may have been his fault, since he didn't really make his presence noticed often, but weren't parents supposed to have some kind of internal connection to their kids or something? They probably did; just not for him after saving all of it for his brother and sister. There was no doubt in Al's mind that if James had been left, his mother would have had him off of the island 45 minutes ago. Al couldn't even imagine anyone forgetting about Lily in the first place, but in the unlikeliness that hell froze over his dad would have stopped time to get her back. Al, however, did not have his own personal cheerleader in the family. The only person possibly wondering where he is was Rose, but even she might be otherwise occupied at the moment. _

_In the Weasleys' defense, it wasn't like they were the type of family that did head counts or anything, so he could understand that they hadn't noticed yet. Just as Al was about to watch a bird scoop up a fish right out of the water he heard a very distinctive pop that meant someone had apparated there. He turned to where he had heard the noise and saw his mother running towards him like a mad person._

"_Al!" she yelled as he approached the steps he was sitting on. "My goodness, where have you been?"_

"_Uh, here." he answered stupidly. _

"_Oh honey, I'm so glad you're alright. Are you ok?" she said as she fussed over him the way his Grandomther would have. She kissed and hugged him maybe a million times before bending down so she was at eye level with him."Al, I know you must be upset but-"_

"_I'm not upset. Actually I'm shocked that it only took an hour for someone to find me." he responded truthfully. He had expected to be sitting on the beach well after the sun went down. His mother pulled him to her again and apparated them right to the middle of their kitchen. His sister quickly hopped up from her chair and almost knocked him over with a hug, and he heard his dad let out a long sigh of relief; he even thought he saw James smiling over his plate. _

"_Albus Severus Potter, where in Merlin's name have you been? We were worried sick!" his brother yelled _

"_I was in the Bahamas." He answered casually, earning a laugh from James. His dad came and gave him a hug as well and that was the end of the reunion. Of course no one was going to apologize, they never did. Al walked to the table and took his place, ironically, between his mum and dad. He began eating without speaking a word and his mum squeezed his hand before tending to her own plate, though he wasn't sure if that meant 'sorry' or 'get your elbows off the table'. They ate in unusual silence for all of three minutes before his dad's fear of awkward moments kicked in._

"_Well Al, at least you got a few extra minutes in the sun." He said, laughing a little at his own joke. His mother obviously didn't find it very funny, as she threw down her fork and knife and left the kitchen quickly. Albus didn't know why, but he got up and ran after her, going so fast that he had just enough time to slide through her door before she slammed it. _

"_Mum?" he said softly to the woman sitting on the floor of her bathroom. "Mum, I'm not mad at you."_

"_You should be." She choked out, turning to him with big, watery blue eyes. There was something about seeing the strongest woman in the world cry that just made you want to crumble into billions of pieces. His mother never, ever, cried. Ever. But here she was, breaking down in front of him; because of him. "I'm so sorry, Al. I've got to be the worst mother in the world; you have every right to be mad at me."_

"_You're not the worst mother in the world. You have your hands full with James and Lily, I'm just more independent, that's all. Plus, it was my fault I got left anyway." He admitted. Really if he hadn't gone for that stupid book none of this would have happened. "I promise its ok, alright? So please stop crying, because it's freaking me out." His mother laughed before pulling him into the tightest hug._

"_You know, I never used to cry. You Potter boys always get to me."_

"_It's the eyes." He joked as he led his mother back to the kitchen._

"_I love you, Al. More than anything in this entire world."_

"_I love you too mum."  
><em>

* * *

><p>"Santa Christmas, Today's Christmas la la la la la la la. Gonna go and get some presents la la la la laaaaa. Sing with me Albie!" his sister yelled at him from across the seat of their father's car. She had been bugging him, and only him, the entire way to their Grandmother's house.<p>

"Sing what? That's not even a real song." She was always singing and babbling incoherently. Everyone thought it was adorable but to him it was just plain annoying.

"It is a real song; I just made it up."

"Then how do you expect me to know the words if you made them all up?"

"Albus." His mother warned sternly. He let out a sigh at how oblivious his parents were. Lily was the one being insufferable and he was the one that got in trouble. But it wasn't like this was anything new to him; he had always been the only one immune to Lily's "cuteness", which got him fussed at a lot by the people who weren't immune to it, which was everyone. In his opinion they shouldn't coddle her so much; she's almost 9 and she still acts like a 5 year old because people let her.

"Lily, why can't James sing with you? You like him better anyhow." He said truthfully.

"I do not! I love you both the same." She answered, earning an 'Aww' from their father. _James probably told her to say that._ "And he can't sing with me, he's sleeping."

"No he's not!" he argued before turning to the look at his brother in the back row. For a second, it did look like he was asleep until he smiled and winked at Albus. "See Lily, he's awake!" Lily turned around quickly and James was close to being caught but he quickly faked a yawn and started rubbing his eyes.

"Al, you woke him up!" she kind of snapped at him. She was going through some kind of phase and had developed a whiny voice that their mum called 'attitude'; Albus just thought it sounded like a bad impression of the way Vic and Molly talk to their parents.

"It's ok Lils, what are you guys fighting about this time?" he asked, keeping up the 'I'm clueless and just woke up' act.

"Al won't sing the Christmas Song with me!"

"It's not _the _Christmas song. It's not a song at all, she just made it up!"

"It is too a song! James will you sing with me then?" she asked giving him those "irresistible" puppy dog eyes. He could see his brother wavering between making up some excuse and actually singing. _You're not gonna get out of this one mate._

"Sure, I'll-"

"We're here! Kids, start getting your things together." His father said speaking for the first time the entire ride. It wasn't unusual for him to be so silent; he was always absorbing the things around him and reflecting. They were a lot alike in that way.

"Oh crud, guess we'll just have to sing another time Nilly Lily." His brother lied smoothly; even though he wouldn't be surprised if he found the two of them singing made-up Christmas songs later on today or tomorrow. Their dad parked the car and they all filed into The Burrow, realizing they were the last ones to get there; as always. Albus was the only Potter with a sense of urgency, and since nobody listened to him they were late all of the time.

"Foooour!" someone screamed from somewhere in the crowded house. Al didn't even have time to find out who screamed before he was hit in the head with some kind of small, painful ball. "Sorry Al! Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas Louis!" he called back to the little boy. They hadn't even been here a full minute and things were already out of hand. After saying their hellos to the aunts and uncles, they finally got to the room where all of their cousins were. They joined the circle in the living room where Teddy had requested that no adults be until their Secret Santa game was over. It was supposed to be bonding time between the cousins, even though they were pretty much all joined at the hip. All of the time. Teddy cleared his throat signaling that it was time to stop chatting and pay attention.

"Alright every one, let's get started with our first ever Secret Santa. We'll go youngest to oldest, so Lily will start by giving her gift to her Secret Santa and we'll keep going in age order until everything's passed out. Simple enough right?"

"Yes yes!" Lily chanted impatiently "Can we please start now Teddy?"

"Yeah, go ahead and give out your gift." She literally bounced off of the sofa and looked around the room as if she wasn't quite sure who she had gotten. _So dramatic. _She stopped when she got to Vic, who was her life's role model.

"Happy Christmas Vic!" she yelled. Vicky slowly opened the tiny box and gasped when she saw what was inside. She pulled out two expensive looking hair clips that had blue flowers and crystals on them. "I hope you like them! I know how much you like blue."

"Oh my goodness Lils, I love them! Thank you!" she said. She seemed really satisfied and Al just hoped he could like his gift half as much. He wasn't a great liar, so it would be really hard to fake liking a present he hates with everyone staring at him. These thoughts were a bit premature though, there was a large possibility that the person who picked him had forgotten. "Alright Lucy, you're next!"

"Ok. Happy Christmas James!" she said pulling a rectangle box from under her chair. To Al's knowledge, Lucy and James weren't that close nor had they ever held a conversation, so he wondered how this would work out. His brother grabbed the box with a look along the lines of what Al was thinking. James opened it slowly and smiled before holding up what was inside. The first thing was a pair of new Keeper's gloves and the other was a t-shirt that said 'I Keep It Real'. _Clever_. "Get it? Keep it real, cuz you're a keeper!"

"That's a good one Luce! Thanks a lot, it's awesome." She skipped happily to her seat and all eyes went to a clueless looking Hugo. Hugo could be very…dim sometimes. He was the sweetest bloke ever; he just had more Ron in him than Hermione. Everybody could see this, including Rose, which is why she pushes him so hard to think before he speaks and stuff.

"Hugo! You're the third oldest, you always will be. It's not that hard." Rose said with a light tone that still came off kind of mean. Good old Hugo didn't catch that intonation and just got up from his seat with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I was the youngest until Luce and Lils were born, and wouldn't be third if someone has another baby. Happy Christmas Fred!" he chirped. Al couldn't help but laugh along with most of his other cousins. Hugo had a point, and Rose knew it because she was now blushing. Al patted her on the back and shrugged as if to say 'he's got a point', just in case she didn't realize. She calmed down almost instantly and Al smiled at their twin-like telepathy. Technically they weren't twins; they weren't twins at all really, but they had been born exactly 12 hours and 38 minutes apart.

"No way, thanks Huey!" Fred yelled as he held up the latest version of a basketball video game. He was really into muggle sports, and he and everyone else would play games on his little console thing for hours. Hugo looked very proud to have gotten a successful gift, and fist bumped Louis who stood up next and literally danced over to Lucy holding a horribly wrapped package.

"For you Lucille, Happy Christmas." he said as he bowed to her dramatically. This made our little superstar giggle like crazy as she tore off the wrapping paper. She revealed a box with a bunch of compartments that had strings and beads and stuff inside. "It's a friendship bracelet kit. Now you can make them all the time, because I know you like that kind of stuff." She squealed like a pig and jumped up and down saying thank you over and over. Another perfect gift. It was his turn now, and he had been dreading this moment all day. The other gifts had been really _really _good and thoughtful, and Al wasn't sure he had tried hard enough. He got up from his seat and walked over to Molly.

"Happy Christmas." He said nervously. He and Molly weren't that close either, so he was sure she was feeling nervous as she took the envelope from him. She opened it slowly and her eyes almost popped out of her head when she read the card inside.

"A 10 year subscription to Teen Witch Magazine? Thanks Al, this is the best! I was scared you had only gotten me an exploding card or… or homework or something." _Homework for Christmas? Too bad I didn't pull James' name. _He went back to his seat and Rose handed her gift to Roxy without getting up.

"It's a personal diary." Rose chirped before she even pulled the paper off completely. "Only you can open it using your fingerprint. And the best part is that the quill there has flesh memory so only you can see what is written with it. Anyone who tries to look at what you write will only see jibberish."

"Aww thanks Rosie. I love it." Dom playfully yawned at the exchange as she hopped off of her stool and headed towards Teddy with her small gift in her hands. "Happy Christmas Teddward!" she said before ruffling his hair. He swatted her hand away playfully and began opening up his gift. It looked like the newest CD from We 3 Wizards, a new band that he had been obsessed with lately. "And the _best_ part is that it's been charmed so that the actual band will come out and play personally for you." She joked. Everybody laughed, including Rose, and she and Teddy then did their little secret handshake.

"Not bad D.W., not bad at all." He answered gratefully. It was Fred's turn now and he just threw his gift to Dom who hadn't made it back to her seat yet.

"Happy Christmas Dommy Wommy!" he yelled to her. She opened it up and gasped loudly while holding her gift up in the air. "Walkie Talkies! It's exactly what I wanted, thank you Freddy Weddy. You're the best!" she said before running to him and pinching his cheeks.

"But that's not even the best part, turn the package over." He instructed. She did as she was told and when she turned the pack around it revealed another walkie.

"Three! So we can talk to Jamie Wamie! Fred Austen Weasley, you are the best!" While she drooled over her gift James got up to give his present to…Rose? This should be interesting considering they hate each other.

"Ugh, just my luck." She said as she took the gift from him.

"My sentiments exactly, Happy Christmas!" she tore off the paper carefully, probably making sure it wasn't going to blow up or anything. She rid the gift of its wrappings and her jaw almost dropped to the floor when she saw the gift. "It's a book making kit, because you're too smart for all the other books in the world. So now you get to write your own and make it about whatever your nerdy little heart desires."

"Wow James, that's sweet and insulting at the same time. Thanks!" she said. James looked like he was about to hug her but he just settled for a nod instead, and she nodded back. _They are so weird._ "Alright Foxy Rox! It's going to be hard to beat that, but you can give it a go." He said before winking. He knew just how to make himself look like a git after being really thoughtful.

She stuffed her new journal into her bag and got up with her gift in hand. "Sod off J.P, Happy Christmas Louis!" He tore away at the paper and pulled out a shoebox, and when he took off the lid he gave Roxanne a huge smile. "New cleats, because you're old ones are gross. And the best part is they're charmed to form perfectly to your foot. Really they are, I'm not trying to make fun of Rose." She added when people started laughing.

"Thanks Roxy, you rock!" he said before wasting no time in putting his shoes on his feet. It was Molly's turn now and she sauntered over to Hugo carrying a package that was obviously some kind of ball.

"Happy Christmas Hue!" she said as she threw the ball to him. He tore off the wrappings and revealed a shiny new soccer ball. He spun it on his finger before giving Molly a kiss on the cheek. "And look, it has your name printed on it!" She said as she pointed to one of the hexagons that had his name eritten across in cursive writing. He hugged her again, and returned to his seat doing cool tricks with the ball. It was Vic's turn now, and she walked towards Albus with a very intricately wrapped gift in her hands. Al thanked his lucky stars that the kindest girl on the planet had picked him; this was going to be good.

"Happy Christmas Al!" she said as he watched her tap the box once with her wand, making the gift unwrapped itself. _Cool. _When all of the bows and paper were gone it revealed a model airplane kit just like some of the ones his grandfather liked to collect. He could have hours and hours of fun with this and also be able to share it with his Grandfather.

"Thanks Vic, this is perfect! Did I ever tell you you're the best, smartest witch I know?" he asked.

"You're welcome, and no you didn't. I think I should hear it more often."

"You're the best, smartest witch I know!" he repeated. She laughed and ruffled his hair before turning to Teddy. He was last and it was obvious his gift was for Lily, who was looking close to tears that she had been last. He got up and walked over to their little sister, who only perked up slightly as he sat Indian-style in front of her with his gift in his lap.

"Here you go!" he said before handing her the gift. She opened it and failed fake excitement at what she saw.

"How to keep your puppy happy." She read from the book's cover. "Thanks Teddy, but I haven't got a puppy!"

"Blimey, how could I forget you don't have a puppy?" he said before tapping the scraps of paper again. The paper rearranged itself around and an even bigger box appeared with a bow on top. "Happy Christmas Willy Nilly Lily." He said before kissing her on the forehead. She took the lid off of the box and gasped so loudly it should have hurt her. There's no way Teddy got her-

"A puppy!" she screamed before pulling a tiny black thing out of the box. It looked so small as it just curled up into Lily instinctively earning 'aw's' from all of the girls. "Thank you Teddy! I love her already!"

"_He's_ adorable" Victoire corrected. "What do you think you'll name him?"

"Gatsby Orion Potter." She said quickly. That name was a mouthful but he, Albus Severus, really couldn't talk. He'd always thought being named after Albus Dumbledore and that creep Severus Snape was a bit of a contradiction. His first name wasn't awful, but it made no sense why he had been named after a greasy git like Severus Snape. Was that supposed to be a joke? He'd certainly have to ask his dad about that later; of course, not until his parents were ready to tell him.

The truth is, he and Rose had found out the truth about their parents a while ago. He, Lily, Rose and Hugo were being watched by Uncle George at his joke shop, who made the terrible mistake of letting them go to a book store. It took Rose less than 5 minutes to find the exact books that their parents had so fervently hidden from them. They sworn they'd never tell anyone, which Lily heard and told Lucy who told Louis who told Hugo. So yes, all of the younger kids knew they were semi-famous. They only really knew an abridged version but they weren't as clueless as they would be if their parents had it their way. So far they'd done a great job of keeping it a secret; but they were still young. He wouldn't be surprised if one of them let it slip tonight.

"Al! Albieeeeeeeeee. Albus! Al! Aaaaaal!"

"What Lily?" he yelled causing the dog to bark at him for yelling at her. "What is wrong with this thing?"

"You scared him. And it's time for dinner, GranMolly's been calling you forever." He seriously doubted that she'd been calling for a long time at all. Even though it did seem like 20 more guests had arrived since he'd been daydreaming. They made their way to the dining room and just for fun Al slid his foot in front of Lily's, who's stride was so short that it took her 3 more footsteps to trip over his. She lost her balance for one second but quickly grabbed onto the back of James' chair with the hand that wasn't holding her new pet rat. She kicked him in the back of the knee and stuck her tongue out at him when he wobbled a bit.

"Albus, Lily" their mother clipped. That was all it took from her for them to take their seats at the table. Lily had sat between James and Louis leaving him to take the only other available seat between Molly and his Aunt Luna. _Perfect. _If you've never heard about the Weasley family before, it wasn't an exaggeration when people said it was too many of them to count. His Grandparents, their kids, all of their kids' kids, and even friends of the family like Luna, Neville, his son Zack, Kingsley and his daughters were all there. The table had been extended to three times its normal size, and to say it was loud would be an understatement. Everyone seemed to be getting along and having a good time; even his Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, who fought more than any people he'd ever known seemed to be enjoying each other's company.

"You alright there Al?" Teddy asked.

"Yeah, just thinking." he responded as he looked around the table once more. There was so much love surrounding this table that it was almost too much to bear. This was one of those rare positive things about big families. They may be loud, messy, and annoying, but they were also familiar, warm, and comfortable, and that made up for all the trouble that they sometimes caused. He wouldn't go as far as to say he was a fan of big families, but they weren't _that _bad.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Meh. I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, it's kind of all over the place. I'll more than likely be chaning it, but for now elle est ce qu'elle est. My next update will be two chapters, since it took me so long to get this one out. Alright? Alright!  
>-Jazz<strong>


	19. Funny Girl

"I guess it's far from sunny  
>When the joke is over and the laugh's on you<br>A girl ought to have a sense of humor  
>That's one thing you really need for sure<br>When you're a funny girl  
>The fella said 'A funny girl'<br>Honey, how it ain't so funny, funny girl"

-Barbara Streisand

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Dominique had had a really great Christmas this year. She ate a lot of good food, got some really cool gifts, and could even admit that she was happy to see her mother and brother again. She wasn't really the sappy type, but she had really missed her family while she was away at school. Everyone always had their problems big families, but you could never quite seem to stop loving them. Anyway, this was one of the last nights they'd have together before school started again, so naturally their parents had made tonight date night and left the kids at Rose and Hugo's house. It wasn't as cool as Potter Manor, but it was almost as big, so she was sure they'd come up with something to do if Rose hadn't already planned out activities for them. _

_You would think that Rose and Dom wouldn't get along, but surprisingly enough they were actually pretty close. Both of their mothers work at St. Mungo's, so they would usually be together at the hospital's day care or at one another's houses. Oddly enough their personalities balanced out perfectly. Rose may be a bookworm, but she was so smart that when you let her in on a prank (which James almost never did), the plan was sure to be foolproof. Dom may be a little hyper and all over the place, but that made for a good person to try new things with. So the pair of them would usually spend their time planning secret missions and trying crazy things; it was a lot of fun. __Dominique was really excited about going to Rose's house this time because since their parents had forced her grandparents to go and all their other babysitter's were occupied; Teddy had been put in charge. Teddy had the biggest soft spot for his cousins and Dom had to admit that she used to have a crush on him. She was well aware that he and her sister were some kind of freaky soul mates or something, but he was the only boy she knew that wasn't directly related to her and she was seven at the time, so whatever. The point is, when it came to her or her cousins Teddy was a bit of a pushover, therefore Dom had invited Carter over to Rose's house._

"_James, Fred! Carter's here!" she yelled to her too silent cousins as she raced down the winding staircase._

"_Who's Carter?" Teddy asked, literally coming out of nowhere. _

"_My tutor? Ok, he's a friend from school."_

"_Just a friend?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows like some kind of evil villain.._

"_Ew, yes." She answered, shrugging off the thought of liking her friend._

"_Well that's sweet, but he's got to go. Like now." He answered sternly. _

"_He can't go!"_

"_I think he can, and you're too old to be whining." He replied while Carter rang the doorbell again. Clearly this was going to be harder than she'd thought._

"_But Teddy, I haven't seen him all break and he only has three months to live. His last, dying wish was to see me today." She saw Teddy trying to hold back a laugh at her crazy lie, but it was the best she could come up with on the spot._

"_What's he dying of?" Teddy asked._

"_Umm, penis!" she answered, knowing it would throw him off. And if it didn't, she'd certainly throw somebody off._

"_Dom, please don't shout out stuff like that, it's weird." Molly said as she opened the door with a blushing Chase and Carter trailing behind her. Well if she had invited a friend, Dom could too."Oh, and I found your friend waiting outside." _

"_Ugh, alright whatever," Teddy said defeated, "but they both better be gone before 10:30. I'm too old to be getting yelled at by Hermione."_

"_Thanks Teddward, you big softie. Come on Carter, let's go find something to do." She said trying to get away from Molly and Chase before they started eating each other's faces and talking all mushy to each other. She led him up the too big staircase and into Ron's study, where the boys were likely to be. "Freddy, look who I found!"_

"_Carter, hey! How'd you get here?" he greeted_

"_I came with Chase and Molly." _

"_Chase is here?" James asked, turning around in Ron's big chair. Carter nodded and Dom could see that mischievous gleam come to her cousin's eyes. "Fred, let's go; we have to do that thing, remember?"_

"_What thing?" Fred asked._

"That _thing. Come on." He said as he pulled Fred out of the door. Dom knew that the thing James was talking about was a plot to turn Chase's hair pink and give him heart shaped pimples all over his face. She didn't know why, but James didn't like Chase at all. When she asked why, all he said was that he could tell Chase wasn't a good person because he was such a good person. That didn't make any sense to her so she didn't ask him any questions; you know, for plausible deniability._

"_Your cousins are so weird." Carter said laughing._

"_Hey, we tried to warn you on the train. But on to more important matters, Happy Belated Birthday!" she said as she pulled out a small box from under the couch. She watched him open her gift silently and he took one look at it before hugging her tightly. "Aww, you hate them." She joked._

"_Are you kidding me? These are like the best training drumsticks in the world. I love them!" he answered. She didn't really get what was so cool about drumsticks that could teach you how to drum, but he'd been obsessing about them since they'd met. When she saw a set in her Uncle's shop, she just knew she had to used her 100% off coupon (a.k.a puppy dog eyes) to get them. "This is so much better than the Early Birthday gift I got you."_

"_You bought me a present?" she asked_

"_Of course not, I made this." He said handing her a small box. She opened it carefully and emptied the contents into her hand. "It's a friendship bracelet. The stronger our friendship gets, the more strands will get added to them, and vice versa." He said as he pulled back his shirt sleeve revealing a matching bracelet._

"_You made these?" she asked in disbelief. No one had ever made her anything but mad before this. "It's kind of girly don't you think?"_

"_Well you're a girl." He said. Yes, she was._

"_Right." She replied before going quiet. Dom wasn't really in touch with her less fun emotions, but she was definitely feeling something here. Not only had a cute guy acknowledged her as a girl, he'd also handmade her a gift with a really serious meaning behind it. It was very…sweet._

"_If you don't like it I can-"_

"_Oh no, I love it Carter, thanks." she said, placing her hand on his. They both looked down at their hands and Carter slid over on the couch a little. That was fine with her, because she was starting to feel a little dizzy._

"_You better love it, it took me ages to get right."_

"Ages? _My baby cousin Lucy makes these in like 30 seconds. Maybe you guys should set up a play date and she can help you out." She joked. Joking was something Dom was good at, and it was way more comfortable than all that emotional stuff._

"_Oh, does she? Have her people call my people."_

"_You don't have people." She said as she punched him lightly on the arm. He responded by flicking her on the ear, and before she knew it they were full-on wrestling on the floor. He pinned her on the ground rather roughly with both legs straddling her, and she was about kick his butt until she felt something crawling on her hand. She looked down at her arm and saw her new bracelet working a new piece of string into the old strand. "Aw, I think we just had a moment."_

"_A moment? Please don't go all mushy on me; your lack of sensitivity is the reason I like you so much" he joked. She punched him in the stomach and he fell on top of her clutching his stomach. 'That's the reason I like you so much' she repeated in her head. Did he just say he liked her? The thought of him liking her made her blush, which made her really, really uncomfortable._

"_Dominique! What the hell are you doing?" Teddy screamed, swinging the door open. At first she didn't understand what he could be so upset about, but then she realized her and Carter's current seating arrangement might be a tad misleading. Carter must have noticed this too, because he rolled off her faster than she'd ever seen him move before._

"_We were only wrestling. My mum says recreation is good for a patient in their final days." She tried._

"_Yeah right, but it's time for the patient to go home. Ron and Hermione got into an argument so they left dinner early, they'll be back any minute. Carter, you're welcome to use the floo."_

"_Alright, I should probably get back to my death bed." He said as he winked to Dominique. They walked to the fireplace and Carter waved before grabbing a handful of floo powder. "See you at school D!"_

"_Bye Carter!" she said as ache watched him disappear with a smile._

"_Just friends?" Teddy asked slyly. She pushed him with as much force as she had before running back up the stairs and going into Rose's room. Of course they were just friends. She felt that weird crawling feeling on her arm again and looked down as she noticed another strand had added itself to the bracelet. They were just really good friends.  
><em>

* * *

><p>So far, Dominique's time at Hogwarts hadn't been terrible at all. She'd made a lot of friends, hadn't really gotten into too much trouble, and her and Victoire had even been relatively civil towards each other. She hadn't gotten any howlers and her older family members hadn't had reason to bother much, so all in all it had been a great few months. The only real struggle for her had been her Defense against the Dark Arts class. It wasn't that the material was hard, she just didn't have an interest in the subject whatsoever. She would have been perfectly content flying under the radar, but in the words of Vic 'Weasley's don't fly under the radar'. That was really unfortunate, because in this case that's exactly where Dom needed to be.<p>

It was stupid for people to have expectations from her in this class just because of her parents and family. So what if her Uncle had defeated the darkest wizard of all time? The way he told the story, he'd really had no choice. People were really shocked that Dom did so poorly in DADA, but what they didn't realize was that she had just as little of a foundation in the subject as they did. It wasn't like she and her cousins had grown up dueling each other and learning defensive spells or anything. The adults never even mention Dark Magic. Another problem with the class was the fact that she sat next to Carter, who was very distracting at times. He would talk and joke with her all throughout the class, and yet he seemed to always get better marks than she did.

"Miss Weasley, could you answer the question please?" her decrepit DADA professor asked. Dom was pretty positive that her teacher Proffesor Crick had been alive when the subject was invented, and had possibly used the first defensive spell ever.

"Um, play dead." She answered, with no clue as to what the question had been.

"Pardon?" he asked.

"I'd play dead." She repeated.

"To avoid attack by use of the leg-locking curse, you would play dead?"

"To avoid a highly unlikely attack from anything, I would probably just play dead. Let's say you're getting attacked- curses are flying everywhere, you're all running around, and things are probably pretty hectic right? So just play dead; nobody is going to curse a dead person, because that just doesn't make any sense logically. That was more than likely their intention in the first place, so once they seeing you lying on the floor odds are they'd go away." She explained. What she had just said was complete bull, but even she could see that she kind of had a point. If only her classmates weren't laughing, maybe her teacher could see that she had a point too.

"Well that's very interesting Miss Weasley, interesting indeed." The teacher praised, before she received a high five from Carter. "Alright class, I think that's enough for today. We'll pick up where we left off next class." They all quickly emptied the classroom and made their way towards the Common Room.

"That, was brilliant!" James yelled when they got into the hallway.

"Pipe down Potter. But really, Dom I don't know how you get away with that." Linden said.

"It's really unfair." Hollis said snootily.

"Um, it's really brilliant is what it is. Please tell me your secret; If I had've said that I'd be in detention for sure." Carter said.

"Guys, I don't know; I didn't even hear the question I just started talking."

"Password please?" the Fat Lady asked when they reached the portrait.

"Gobbledygook." Dom answered, granting them entrance into their common room. "I will pay Vic 50 galleons to use a normal password just once. What in the hell is a gobbledygook?"

"It's the language Goblins speak." Hollis replied. _Of course the queen of the goblins would know something like that._

"Well I don't speak Gobbledygook so how should I know?" Dom asked the most annoying person she'd ever met.

"Because despite the way you present yourself, you're not an idiot."

"Well every night I pray that despite the way you present yourself, you're not a complete bitch, and yet…" she said as she shrugged. If Hollis wanted to play the comeback game, Dom would be more than happy to oblige. She had one of the sharpest tongues around and she was not afraid to put it to use. She must have said something amusing because everyone in the group was laughing; except Hollis of course.

"Carter!" she yelled, as she hit him for laughing at her.

"I'm sorry Holls, the girl's funny. You can't deny it."

"Whatever." She said before flipping her hair and turning towards the girls' dorms. Linden shot Dom a sympathetic look and followed their 'friend' to the room.

"Holls? You have a nickname for her now?" Dom asked.

"Didn't you know Dommy? Carter and Hollis are in loooove." James replied immaturely. _What? That's ridiculous. _Carter couldn't possibly like a girl that he talked about almost every day. She was the butt of almost all of their jokes; Dom was certain he did not like her.

"James! Come on man, can't you keep your mouth shut for 5 seconds?" Carter replied as he shoved James, who was laughing hysterically.

"You can't be serious! You and Hollis Yates?" she asked her so-called best friend. James, who inherited fear of awkward situations from his father, pulled Fred away to go sit in The Weasley section with the rest of the family.

"Well yeah, I guess."

"But she's awful!"

"She's only awful to you because you like to push her buttons."

"I push her buttons because she tap dances on mine." She said, making Carter laugh. "I'm not kidding, this isn't funny! What do you see in her anyway?"

"Well she's smart, and confident and really pretty, I guess."

"Pretty? Jellyfish are pretty too, but you wouldn't date one of those would you?" she asked.

"Listen Dom, we're not getting married, we're not even really dating, we're just…hanging out." Sure, they were just 'hanging out' now, but Dom knew that girl would have him wrapped around her little bony finger in no time.

"Ugh, she's probably just doing this to get a rise out of me." Dom thought out loud. Hollis was probably envious of her friendship with Carter and was going to use her prostitot looks to weasel her way between them.

"Maybe. Or she could actually like me."

"Yeah, sure."

"Wait. Why would Hollis' liking me get a rise out of you? You…you don't like me do you?" he asked, as if it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. Well it was the most ridiculous thing _she'd _ever heard.

"Me? Pfft, no I don't like you. I mean I like you as a best friend, I don't like you like you." She said sputtering over her words. There was no way she liked Carter Thomas, was there?

"Well, great; we're on the same page then." He replied.

"Yup, same page. We're still good right? This Hollis thing won't make my friendship bracelet explode will it?"

"We're still good. Plus, nothing could ever come between C and D, the alphabet's pretty set in stone." He said before laughing at his own joke.

"I don't know what's worse; the bad joke, or you laughing at your own bad joke."

"Aww, it wasn't that bad." He said as he made his way up the boys' stairs. She headed towards her own room and practically dragged her way up the annoying stairs. She couldn't believe Carter was about to be dating the one and only person on the planet that Dominique harbored negative feelings for. The attitude she could deal with; but what bothered her was the fact that she was a polar opposite to the girl. They were different in every way possible so it made no sense for him to like both of them. Obviously since Dom was the friend and Hollis was almost the girlfriend, he preferred the girly type, but that shouldn't matter to Dom because she didn't like Carter anyway. Ok, maybe she had thought of him as attractive, but that's natural right? _Crap, I do like him_. It didn't matter though, because he made it very clear that he didn't like her. She opened up her bedroom door and plopped face first onto her fluffy bed, and heard someone in the room clear her throat. _Please don't be Hollis._

"Some advice?" the girl offered, looking at Dom with a cocky smile on her face.

"I would say no, but I'm sure you'll give it to me anyway."

"I know you like Carter, don't try to deny it. But if I were you I'd save myself the embarrassment and back off. He'd never choose you over me."

"First of all I don't like him, but if I did what makes you so sure he'd pick you over me?" she asked, honestly just curious what her reasoning would be.

"Look at you. You run around with the boys, and don't care how you look- everything about you screams 'just friends'. He'll always see you as his hilarious friend that he can hang out with; nothing more. And _that _won't be so funny." She said as she strutted away arrogantly, walking out of the room. Dominique rolled her eyes and turned over so that she could muffle her screams with a pillow. That sneaky little slag had a point. At the rate Dom was going, she'd never get a boy to take her seriously or think of her as more than a friend. She had always thought Carter was different, but apparently not. She had half a mind to go to Carter and tell him what a manipulative girl he was about to get involved with, but she had seen enough cheesy romantic comedies to know that would only end up going badly for her. Dom felt something on her arm pop quickly, and looked down to see that one of the strands on her friendship bracelet had broken. _Ugh, perfect. _She knew Hollis was going to become a problem for her and Carter's relationship, or…friendship. She bounded off of her bed to see if Carter's bracelet had broken as well, but when she reached the boys' stairs a pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her.

"Sorry Dom, but you may not want to go up there right now." Fred warned. What? Dom went into their room all of the time.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Hollis just went up there." He said as if that cleared anything up.

"So what? They're 12, what could they possibly be doing?"

"I don't know, but I know you like him too and-"

"I don't like him! Why does everyone keep saying that?" she said. Fred studied her expression with his very understanding eyes and sighed when she met his with nothing but defiance. "Do you want some advice?"

"No, I think I've had enough advice for one day." She walked towards the Weasley section and took her usual seat on the windowsill facing the Black Lake. Maybe Hollis was right. She probably would always be seen as the friend, or a tomboy, or a waste of blonde hair and a cute face. So she could either face the fact that she liked her best friend and fight for him, or she could be patient and let nature take its course. In all honesty she was too young to be dating anyone anyway, and there was the fact that she and Carter were thick as thieves, so there was only one option; the high road. Dom really wasn't too fond of the high road; it felt like settling to her. She was much more comfortable taking a chance on the low road and seeing where she ended up, but if it would save her from losing her best friend she'd take the high road just this once. _So much for a good year._


	20. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

"Some boys take a beautiful girl  
>And hide her away from the rest of the world<br>I want to be the one to walk in the sun  
>Oh girls they want to have fun<br>Oh girls just want to have fun"

-Cyndi Lauper

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Molly loved being a part of a big group of friends, except for times like these when they all gang up on you. It was hard enough to hold your own in an argument with one person, but when there were seven people with strong personalities cornering you, it was kind of hard to stand up for yourself. The best way to handle the situation was usually to just let them get out everything they had to say, and then try, and more than likely fail, to get your point across. Although many people would tell you she and her friends were fake and shallow, that wasn't the case at all. Way back in her first year they had all gotten close through having classes together, knowing someone who knew someone, and some of them were related._

_A lot of their classmates called them the brat pack, because they all happened to come from well-to -do families and were popular. But if people would only take a closer look, they'd realize that they were the only group in the entire school that had a person from every house in it. There was her, Madison Harrington, and Lex Alvarez, from Gryffindor, Carson Bennett and Kristina Delgado from Ravenclaw, Brooks Faucheaux from Hufflepuff and his twin sister Blithe from Slytherin. It just so happened that they all got along really well, and over the years they had become a really tight group._

_Molly looked at the faces of her 7 closest friends, and at the moment, they were all irritated, upset, or annoyed. They were having a very uneven argument about whether or not Molly had become 'frumpy' as Kristina had so kindly put it. According to them, since she started dating Chase she had lost touch of her fun side and didn't have as much time for them anymore. This wasn't entirely false, but it wasn't like she didn't want to hang out with them; the problem was that hanging out with them usually meant going to a party, breaking the rules in some way, or doing something absolutely random at the most inappropriate times. She loved doing that kind of stuff with them, but Chase didn't. He didn't approve of parties, or underage drinking, or 'their kind of dancing', or breaking rules, or anything that wasn't Quidditch._

"_Come on Molly! We used to have so much fun all of the time, and now you just sit in your common room locked away with Chase. I'm surprised he let you out of his sight long enough to let you have lunch with us today." Kristina complained._

"_Stop it, you make it seem like he controls me or something." She argued. Chase definitely did not control her._

"_If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…" Carson interjected. "You haven't been to one party this entire year, and we barely see you unless it's with Chase or if he had something else to do. To be honest, I'm kind of sick of him, he's so…weird."_

"_Well you only see him half as much as me and Mads do!" Lex shouted, "He's in our house, so we see him all the time. Plus, he doesn't like to party; and I just can't respect that."_

"_Well maybe there are more interesting things to do than partying." She tried, not even convincing herself._

"_Ok, so things are clearly worse than we thought. The only logical explanation is that he's brainwashed you. You're the party queen and he wouldn't know fun if it was riding on his broomstick. The last time I even saw him at a party he was turning all the fire whiskey into water." _

"_He really did that?" Molly asked. She knew he wasn't fond of parties but she never thought he could be such a prick. _

"_He did. I don't see how you put up with it." Blithe answered._

"_Come on guys, he's not that bad. He's only looking out for her like a gentleman should; if it was up to you guys we'd just get left at parties while you guys hook up with anything that will speak to you." Madison said. Always the voice of reason._

"_We're not that bad." Lex argued._

"_Lex Alvarez, you are the worst. At least Carson has some kind of standards."_

"_Ok, so I'm no fun anymore, you all hate my boyfriend, and Lex is a man-whore. Anything else you want to bitch at me about?" she asked, trying to steer the conversation back in its original direction._

"_Molly, we're not bitching, we just miss you! This is our last year to just be wild and crazy before things start getting all real. You're the only one in this really serious relationship and it's turned you into this whole new person."_

"_What about Brooks and Madison, they've been dating each other for years!"_

"_But they're both in the group, it's basically like nothing changed." Blithe replied. They were really acting like a bunch of ripe assholes._

"_Ok B, so what are you guys asking me to do? Because I'm not seeing the actual problem, I just feel like I'm being attacked by a bunch of rabid pretty people."_

"_We just want to make sure that this new you- the quiet, behaved, reclusive, homebody- is really you, not who your boyfriend wants you to be." Madison said looking concerned. "Don't you miss the dancing and music and just the feeling of being surrounded by other people having a good time?" Molly couldn't deny that she had been seriously denied of some fun lately. This time last year she and her friends were throwing and attending parties left and right, and she really missed the feeling of that 'I don't have a care in the world' fun. As much as she hated to admit it, she had sort of pulled away from her friends lately and that made her feel really bad. Maybe it was time for her to loosen back up a bit._

"_I know that face." Brooks said with a small smirk," So I take it you'll be coming to Hufflepuff New Year's party?"_

"_Yes I'll be there." She said, faking annoyance. This earned her cheers and hugs from her overly-dramatic friends. Now she just had to figure out how she would tell Chase. "You know this party better be amazing."_

"_With you there, it couldn't be anything less." Carson said with a wink. With their problem of the day solved, the group went back to their usual demeanor where they made fun of each other and you couldn't get a word in. She liked this much better than good cop bad cops. "All you need now is Chase's permission and you'll be good to go."_

"_I do not need Chase's permission, he isn't my bloody father. If I want to go to a party I can." She replied. She didn't need anyone's permission to have a good time…but maybe she should run it by Chase quickly after dinner.  
><em>

* * *

><p>"Chase, are you sure you don't want to come with me?" she asked for the millionth time that night. She didn't really want him to come that badly, but she didn't want to leave him alone all night either.<p>

"Yeah, I've got O.W.L.'s coming up and I can't play around for these next few months."

"Well the test isn't for like 4 months, technically you could play around just this one last time." She suggested.

"I wish, but unlike you I can't go to parties all week and then pass all of my tests. It's pretty impressive; if I wasn't so madly in love with you I would be jealous." He said before kissing her sweetly. "Please tell me, how are you so amazing?" She hated the way he used a sweet tone when he insulted her to make it seem like he was giving her a compliment. She wasn't stupid.

"It's a gift, but I should probably be going."

"Alright. You know how much I want you to have fun but could you please, for me, try not to drink too much. And if the party gets shut down, don't worry about your friends, just make sure you don't get caught, they'll be fine. And-"

"Molly Olivia! Get your sexy butt out here before I come in there. Let's go!" someone shouted from outside the door. She could see Chase getting angry at his comment.

"Hold the hell up Lex, I'm coming!" she shouted back.

"Molly, language please!" he warned.

"Sorry. Ok, I'm about to leave; you're absolutely positive you don't want to go?"

"Yes, I'm positive. Be good!" he said as he smacked her on the butt. She would. Molly left Chase's room and ran down the stairs to a waiting Madison and Lex.

"Took you long enough, was Chase giving you rules or something?" Lex asked. She hit him on the back of the head twice and Madison enforced it with two hits of her own. The three Gryffindors made the lengthy walk to the dungeons, where Brooks was waiting for them outside the Hufflepuff common room with cups in hand.

"Is that Molly? The party has officially started." Brooks joked before kissing her on the cheek. He handed them each a cup of fire whiskey and Molly drank all of hers in about 4 gulps. "Slow down there Weasley, I am not carrying anyone out of here tonight."

"I'm fine, let's go in!" As soon as the door swung open the loud music and sweaty heat hit her all at once. It was gross, but exhilarating at the same time; just like she remembered. It wasn't like she hadn't had fun all year, but ever since she and Chase started going out her mind had been pretty occupied with him. The weird thing about relationships is, no matter how much you tell each other you love them or who they are, you still try really hard to be their idea of perfect; and Chase's idea of perfect was a focused, contained, "just say no", type of girl. Molly and her particular group of friends were more along the lines of loud, carefree, and adventurous, and Molly hadn't quite figured out how to balance the two sides. Sometimes she felt like she had a split personality, but being here in the midst of all this chaos, excitement, and adrenaline, it was all too clear which personality was truly hers.

"Mollyyyyyy!" Carson slurred into her ear. "Don't juss shtand there, have funn!" She couldn't help but laugh at her friend as she took the drink out of his hand and watched him slither away. He had clearly had enough to drink, but she hadn't; so she finished off what was in his cup. A small part of her felt wrong, like maybe she shouldn't be drinking, but she washed away that feeling with more fire whiskey. She had been 'feeling' way too much these last few months; right now she just wanted to dance. She made her way to the center of the dance floor and just began moving on her own, not caring if she had a partner or if anyone was watching her. The beat slowly picked up and she followed, but her movements were so big that she accidentally hit someone. She turned to apologize, but saw that it was just Lex. She grabbed him by the back of the shirt and turned him so he was facing her. Without a second thought he abandoned whatever girl he had been with and started dancing with her.

"Your little cousin Roxy, what's the deal with her?" he asked out of nowhere.

"No, that's not happening." She answered all too quickly. Molly wasn't really the overprotective type, but this was a major exception; of all of her guy friends Lex, was definitely the sleaziest. In their four years at Hogwarts, he had dated almost half of the female population; both younger and older. He was the exact definition of a guy you don't bring home, and even if Roxy did like him he'd have to go through all 12 of their cousins to get to her.

"Whatever." He answered with a shrug as he moved to dance with the next girl he could find. Molly would have been perfectly content dancing alone, but she spotted Kristina, Madison, and Blithe, dancing in a little circle and made her way over to them.

"Molly!" Kristina squealed as she hugged her way too tight. Kris was already a very sexual person for her age and when you threw in alcohol…let's just say you never knew what might happen. Molly loosed herself from her friends grip in the most polite way possible. She scooted over closer to Blithe who let out a very understanding laugh. The four girls danced like there was no tomorrow, melting into each new song as it played. They had been dancing around for at least an hour, and Molly felt like her feet were going to detach themselves and run away. She kicked off the offensive shoes and continued to dance with her friends. After a few more minutes, the boys came and joined their little circle and Madison screamed when Brooks came and picked her up from behind. The whole group began laughing and Molly remembered why they were all friends. Not because they were all attractive, or came from 'important' families, but because they each genuinely knew how to have a good time. An idea suddenly came to her mind.

"Come on guys, let's get out of here!" she yelled over the music. She grabbed Carson and Blithe by the hands and didn't have to look back to know that the others were following. On her way out of the door she grabbed a bottle of fire whiskey and led the way to their destination. When they finally reached the black lake she plopped down on the ground and laid back, laughing for absolutely no reason. Everybody else followed suit and joined her on the ground laughing. "I really love you guys."

"Aww, she loves us!" Madison responded.

"No seriously. Thanks for making me come to the party tonight, I really needed this."

"Hope we aren't going to get you in too much trouble with the boyfriend." Brooks replied.

"You know, until you just mentioned him, I hadn't thought about him much since I left his room." This made her laugh harder than she'd laughed since before last May, and apparently her friends found it funny too. "From now on, I'm going to have some time to myself at least once a week. I've really missed you losers."

"Uh oh, I hope we haven't created a little monster." Blithe answered.

"Oh no, if anything Molly dearest made us into the monsters we are today." Carson added.

"What? You all cannot blame your craziness on me."

"End of second year, I specifically remember a little girl sneaking alcohol from her cousin Teddy and calling us punks if we didn't try some with her."

"Well nobody said you _had_ to drink any." She challenged.

"Yeah right, like three boys were going to let you girls drink and go down as punks?" Lex answered.

"Fine. Well whose idea was it to throw our first party?" she asked them

"Yours!" they all shouted before laughing. She joined in the laughter, remembering how fiery and persuasive, and annoying she used to be. They weren't that old, but they had so many good memories together. From the time they snuck into Hogsmead their first year, to the time they dared each other to jump in the black lake, it was no question they were a bit off their rockers.

"Well I don't care how we got this way; I just know it's been a good time. And now that we have our Molly back, it's only going to get better." Madison said from her spot on the grass.

"I'll drink to that!" Molly responded before taking one last swig of the fire whiskey. She handed off to whoever was next to her, and they each took one last drink before she sent the half-full bottle into the lake using her wand. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"Pajama party!" Kristina answered excitedly .

"Brilliant! We haven't done that in ages, no boys allowed!" Blithe rejoiced. They all got up and Molly and the girls began running towards the Room of Requirement. Tonight had been one of the best nights she'd had in a really really long time. Chase would probably die if he knew all that she'd done tonight; but what he didn't know wouldn't kill him. She was too young to be worried about boyfriends and relationships; all she really cared about was having fun, no matter who it was with.


	21. My Funny Valentine

" My funny Valentine, sweet comic Valentine  
>You make me smile with my heart<br>Your looks are laughable, unphotographable  
>Yet, you're my favorite work of art"<p>

-Frank Sinatra

* * *

><p>Vic woke up feeling very weird this Valentine's Day. She had ten million things to do and about 6 hours to do them. There were her daily checks on her family members, she needed to owl Lily's birthday gift to Potter Manor, help with the decorations for the Valentines Day Ball, find to time to at least say hello to Teddy, and collect the ballots for the Prince and Princess of the Ball. She wasn't even the Head Girl, but she felt like she had the weight of the school on her shoulders. And on top of all that, she and Teddy hadn't had much time to talk since Christmas break ended. As annoying as that was, she didn't have time to dwell on the past. She put the finishing touches on her make-up and headed out to check on her cousins. Usually they didn't need anything, but she always wanted to make sure. First she came to Molly who, not-surprisingly, was still sleeping. If not for Molly's uncanny ability to interrupt people's personal moments, Vic would have left her cousin sleeping but as this was not the case-<p>

"Up and at 'em Molly Olivia. You're wasting sunshine." She said as she ripped the covers off of the curvy brunette.

"Mummy no, I told you 10 more minutes." The girl groaned enticing a giggle from the blonde,

"Get up! It's Valentine's Day." At those words the girl popped up looking around wildly. "Ha! I knew that would work you sick little love bird. You know the routine, how's everything going? Do you need anything?" she asked.

"I _need _10 more minutes of sleep." She repeated as usual, causing Vic to roll her eyes.

"Fine. But you know I'm here if you ever need me."

"Yes. Ta ta now." She snapped back. _Geez, so rude. _Just as she was about to leave the cranky girl alone, Vic noticed a blue flower taped onto the girl's four-poster. Vic studied the flower carefully, having a strange feeling that it was for her, but brushed it off figuring it was just one of Molly's gifts for the day. She made her way to Roxy's room next, which conveniently was right under Molly's. She peeked in, just in case, and smiled when she saw her cousin in bed buried under a mountain of cards, chocolates, flowers, balloons, and other Valentiney nostalgia.

"Roxy love, wake up!" she said gently. The girl, who was a much calmer sleeper than Molly, simply propped herself up on her elbows, furrowing her eyebrows as she heard a box of chocolates hit the floor.

"What in the bloody-" Roxy started before hopping out of the bed. "What is all this?"

"I guess they're your Valentines. Do you have a secret admirer you haven't told me about?"

"Pfft. If they admire me so much they wouldn't be trying to fatten me up with all of these sweets. Can you help me do…something with it?" she asked hopefully. Vic grinned at her cousin's humbleness and watched as the gifts, with the swish of her wand, sorted themselves accordingly and floated into a neat pile on top of her trunk. There was a pile for cards, stuffed animals, sweets and flowers, where Vic noticed a blue flower identical to the one she'd seen earlier in Molly's room. "Merlin, what would anyone do without you?"

"Uh…I'm sure they'd get on. So what are you going to do with all of it?"

"No idea." The girl huffed. "Maybe I'll secretly send some of the more generic stuff to the people who haven't gotten anything today. I definitely know the feeling."

"That's so nice of you. Are you sure you're a Weasley brat? I don't think it's in our blood to be that selfless." She joked.

"Maybe it is, I mean look at you."

"Yeha yeah. Well good luck, let me know if you need help." She said as she turned for the door.

"Of course. See you Vic!" Next room was Dom, and Vic could only imagine the kind of mood her little sister was in on such a holiday as this one. She took a deep breath before barging in, scanning the room briefly for any more random blue flowers. Much to her surprise her sister was sitting up in the bed with her blonde hair in a neat French braid and fiddling with a piece of paper.

"Dom!" she asked, causing the younger girl to snap her head up quickly and tuck her hand under her covers. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing, my hand's just cold. What are you doing here so early?" she inquired civilly

"I've got loads to do today, so I had to get an early start on my check-ins."

"Oh, well everything's good here. Thanks for the help on that Charms essay."

"No problem. Is everything ok Dom? You're scaring me with the whole 'normal' act." She joked, making her sister smile for the first time that day.

"I'm great, just a little tired is all. I'll probably go back to sleep for a few hours."

"Alright, that sounds good. Have you gotten any Valentine's?"

"Shockingly, yes. Well sort of. I don't know, read it." She said as she shoved a card into Vic's hand.

"I thought about you today, and I liked the feeling so much that I put it on my list of things to do tomorrow." Vic read. "Your friend, C. Is this from Carter?"

"Yep. One stinking Valentine and _that's_ what I get. Pitiful." She said in a tone that sounded a lot more like herself. Vic laughed at her sister.

"If it makes you feel any better I didn't get any. Not even a single chocolate frog from the usual drooling firsties." She joked, although it was really sinking in that she had gotten absolutely nothing.

"Teddy probably threatened them with death if they even considered getting you something."

"What makes you say that?" Vic asked panicking. Had Teddy told someone about them? "Why would Teddy do something like that?"

"Because you're his girlfriend and he's very possessive-which, if I may add, could be a sign of future domestic violence according to Teen Witch Weekly."

"But me and Teddy…we aren't…he and I…we umm…"

"You two are terrible at being secretive. You might want to work on that if you don't want Bill to find out. Now out you go, I want to sleep."

"Who else knows?" Vic asked worriedly.

"Just me for now, but don't think I wouldn't use the information against you if necessary." She said with a devilish smirk before disappearing under her covers. Vic sighed in frustration as she retreated from her sister's room. That girl better keep her mouth shut if she knew what was good for her. She had no problem telling her Father about her relationship with Teddy but it was going to be all about timing if she wanted him to accept it.

As she turned to close Dom's door, she stepped on something slippery. Vic gasped loudly at the sight of the flower that had definitely not been there before she went in the room. She was going to ignore the third flower and go check on Fred and James when she noticed tons of light blue roses had been placed on all of the stairs and was leading to the common room. Not sure of what to expect she pulled out her wand as she descended the long staircase. When she got to the bottom step her eyes lit up as she noticed that the entire common room was completely covered in blue roses, except for a path leading to the big arm chair in the Weasley section. She carefully followed the path until she reached the arm chair that had one more Rose and an envelope addressed to her.

She opened the note slowly-

_Roses are red, Violets are blue, there are loads of other things that are blue too  
>Your eyes, for one, so sweet and pure; dazzling all that see them for sure<br>The ocean as well, so vast and wide, I'd swim across to be by your side  
>But even the sky, so inviting and clear, has nothing on your beauty my dear.<br>So make me the luckiest man of all and be my date to the Valentine's Day Ball._

Vic honestly had no idea how to respond to this note. Sure, she was flattered that someone had done all of this for her, but she had a boyfriend (secret or not). Something didn't feel right about going along with this, but whoever had done it went out of their way to make this for her, and Vic was never one to hurt people's feelings. She fumbled through the envelope for any clue of where to meet this person or who he was but all she got was a tiny note that read 'You'll know me when you see me'. _Brilliant_. This was going to be a _very _interesting day.

* * *

><p>Roxy was truly grateful for the natural beauty she had, but that just wasn't going to do for the ball tonight. She would be one of very few third years attending, and she wanted to look as good, if not better, than the older girls there. She had tried using make-up and all of the other things her mother had sent her, but she looked more like a clown than a sophisticated woman. She would ask Vic for help, but she'd been running around like a chicken with her head cut off getting everything together for the ball. If she had <em>any <em>other options she would more than likely not be sitting on Molly's bed being fussed over.

"This is eyeliner; it is your absolute best friend. Just put it on right above your lash line until you have it all covered." She added while practically poking her in the eye with the stuff. "Just a few more steps and we'll be done, but don't take your hair down until right before you leave."

"Goodness, I don't see how you can do this every day. You must wake up at like 7 in the morning to get finished with it all." Roxy commented.

"Actually I get up at 5, but when I used to straighten my hair everyday it was 4." Molly said blushing, obviously not comfortable telling Roxy this information.

"Well it's no wonder you sleep like the dead, you wake-up at the ass crack of dawn just to do your make-up." Roxy said shocked. "I don't even know why you straightened your hair anyway; I'd kill for your curls."

"Are you kidding me? I'd punch a baby for your hair; you're delusional."

"The grass is always greener I suppose. Anyway, did you owl Lily for her birthday?" Roxy asked trying to get off of the subject of appearance. "She's ten now, that's pretty scary."

"Nah, Albus is my Potter this year."

"Your Potter? What does that mean?" Roxy asked confused.

"Well there are 12 of us and I mean, that's a lot of birthdays, so I alternate which kid in each family gets a gift from me. Don't look at me like that; I'm not made of money like _some _of my cousins."

"Oh come off it, you guys are loaded!" Roxy replied.

"So are you. And your parents give you a monthly allowance. My parents like to instill the values of hard work in us, which is why I have no money. Apparently I haven't learned the value of a galleon." She asked sarcastically, making Roxy laugh. "All done. Goyle is going to piss himself when he sees you." Roxy took a look in the mirror and smiled at the reflection. This is what you should look like for a ball.

"Goyle and I are just friends, I don't know if I can make that any clearer. And thanks a ton Molly; I'll owe you forever for this." Rox said as she made her way to the door.

"I'm just glad that someone came to me for something and I could actually help. You look gorgeous, now hurry up and get dressed!" Molly yelled as she literally threw Roxy's dress at her. She rid herself of her sweats and t-shirt, and unzipped the garment bag slowly. There was no telling what her mom had sent her for tonight; she just knew that her mom was ecstatic that Roxy had been asked to go. When she finally looked at the dress she gasped at how beautiful it was. It was a one-shoulder, silver, floor length gown with ruffles covering the neckline. The bodice had tiny pleats that turned into more ruffles that cascaded to the bottom of the gown. It was the single most amazing piece of fashion Roxy had ever seen in her life, and she put it on slowly a carefully, making sure to not mess anything up. Once she was zipped in she slowly removed the rollers from her hair and shook out her long, bouncy curls before gathering it into a messy side ponytail like Molly had told her to. "You. Look. Amazing!" Molly squealed.

"Really? You look beautiful Mo, that dress is so you." Roxy said. Molly's dress was royal blue, strapless chiffon gown that had a beaded waistline. It stopped right above the knees in the front and had a floor length hem in the back. Her curly hair had been pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck and she wore a tiny tiara. "Are we ready then?"

"Absolutely. I can't wait to see the look on the boys' faces." She said as she linked arms with her cousin and led her out of the dormitory. The two girls descended the staircase at a dramatically slow pace (set by Molly) and Molly cleared her throat when they reached the bottom. Chase and Grayson looked up from what had to have been an awkward moment and stood to greet their dates. "So, what do you think?"

"Molly, you look beautiful." Chase whispered, as if it was some kind of secret. The two began snogging passionately, completely forgetting about the other two in the Common Room. Roxy turned to Grayson and made a gagging noise, mocking the two love birds.

"You know, I was thinking for a second that my date had been replaced by some older, mature woman, and then you go and do that." Goyle joked. "Good evening Roxy."

"Good evening to you too Grayson. Ready to go?" she asked

"Actually I'm not so sure any more. I'd rather not endure all the death glares for having the prettiest date at the ball."

"You're a Slytherin aren't you? Just glare back. Now let's go!" she ordered, pulling her date out of the portrait hole. They walked in unusual silence all of the way to the corridor that led to the ball. "Want to race to the Great Hall?" she asked.

"I don't think that would be appropriate, plus you know you'd win."

"Sheesh Goyle, I was kidding. You need to loosen up, this is supposed to be fun!" she said, trying to lift whatever mood her friend was in. "What's wrong?" Instead of answering her, Goyle lifted up her chin and kissed her sweetly on the lips. They stayed like that for all of 10 seconds before he pulled back with a strange expression on his face.

"Damn it, I'm sorry. I can't do this." He said while shaking his head.

"Do what?"

"This! Being with you, being with anyone that's not… " he said trailing off. Roxy was utterly and completely lost. She didn't know he was trying to 'be with her' in the first place. She knew he would joke about her being pretty and they had gotten really close, but a tiny part of her had always thought he was- "Roxy, I have to tell you this because you're the only friend I have, and I can't hold it in any longer. It's literally kinlling me to keep it in. I'm…well I think, no I know it. I'm…gay." He spit out before blushing and letting out a huge sigh. "But you can't tell anyone until, well don't. I'll deal with that when the time is right." For some reason Roxy wasn't as shocked as she should have been. She felt bad for him. Not that he was gay, because that changed _nothing _about the person he was, but the fact that he'd had no one to tell was heart-breaking. Her family was always so open and honest about everything; you could literally tell any one of them anything if you really wanted, but seeing as Goyle came from a strict Slytherin household, it could be very dangerous if he said anything to them.

"Ok." Was all she said before grabbing his hand and walking to one of the empty tables in the ballroom, ignoring the gasps and stares coming from the older students.

"That's it? We're still going to be friends?" he asked.

"Yes, that's it. And personally I'm offended that you thought I would stop being your friend because of that. Your secret is safe with me, but if you ever want to talk about it I'm here. Now are you going to bloody dance with me, or not?" she asked with a smile.

"It would be my pleasure, love." he responded as he led her onto the dance floor. Although Roxy was the only one he had told, she could tell that just by letting it off of his chest he was able to open up. It was almost like he had been freed from the front he'd put on for so many years, and was slowly letting the real him shine through. They were having such a good time that Roxy didn't even notice when the dance floor began to settle down and everyone stared at something behind her. She turned around and was immediately drawn to a tall guy who looked like he was searching for someone. He was wearing expensive looking dress robes and holding a blue rose. That matched the color of hair.

"Teddy!"

* * *

><p>So far, Valentine's Day had not been going according to his plan. James and Fred had done a great job of leaving Vic the trail of flowers and making sure she got his note, but Teddy had gotten held up with an exam, and apparated to Hogwarts about an hour and a half after the ball started. He had planned to get there before it started and surprise Vic, but this would just have to do. He was standing amidst hundreds of students, who were gawking and being dramatic at the sight of him like they used to last year. He could care less about them though; all other thoughts vanished when he saw Victoire sitting alone at one of the tables facing a window. He walked over to her slowly, mentally bracing himself for her anger. Because knowing Vic she would be angry that he had made her wait so long, rather than happy to see him. He placed a hand on her shoulder and couldn't help but chuckle when she jumped at the touch.<p>

"Teddy?" she asked softly, before looking down at the flower in his hand. "_You?"_

"Happy Valentine's Day Tori."

"Don't you 'Tori' me Teddy Remus Lupin, do you have any idea how long I've been waiting you bloody prat? I thought someone had played a prank on me!" she said with an adorable pout on her face. He walked forward attempting to kiss her passionately and woo her like in the muggle films but thought better against it when she raised an eyebrow at him challengingly.

"I'm sorry Vic, my plan was to get here as soon as the Ball started but I got held up by an exam." He confessed. Just as he thought that softened her a bit; school work always came first. "Are you going to stay mad at me forever? Because I have ways of begging for your forgiveness and I'm not afraid to use them." She walked past him, leaving Teddy confused for a few seconds before she turned back to him with a smirk on her face.

"Are we going to dance? I mean, this _is _a ball." She said playfully. He ran to her and picked her up before planting a huge kiss on her perfect lips. This woman was going to be the death of him, but if death was delivered by her he'd be ok with that. "I'm so happy to see you!" she said turning back into the sweet Vic that only Lupin's, Weasley's and Potter knew wasn't there all of the time.

"You really know how to keep a guy on his toes, love." He said as they swayed to the music.

"I have no idea what you mean darling." She said feigning innocence, " So, how's your Valentine's Day been?"

"Well I woke up to a howler from the lovely Lily Potter this morning because she thought I forgot her birthday, even though it technically wasn't her birthday yet in America. After that I got to class where we had an exam that I somehow managed to completely forget about. That monstrosity lasted for two hours, then I had to run to my flat and get ready quickly yet still look dazzlingly good. After that I came here to you, which has completely made my day." He said.

"Wow, you've done a lot. Wait, how'd you get in the castle? You can't apparate in or out of Hogwarts." She asked.

"That, my dear, is a secret. So how are the kiddies doing?"

"I don't know. Some days they're the sweetest people on the planet. Then other days…well, they don't call us Weasley brats for nothing." She said as she shook her head. "Molly and Chase are all over each other all of the time. It's like he's attached to her by the lips or something. Roxy's growing up, James is a maniac, Fred's a sweetheart and Dom is complicated. Nothing new really.

"I never thought I'd say this but I kind of miss the little psycho's." Teddy confessed, earning him a smack on the head from his girlfriend. "What was that for?"

"My cousins are not psycho's. A bit much to handle? Yes. But they aren't psychotic." She reprimanded.

"Gosh, I've missed your mood swings."

"Ladies and Gentleman," the Head Girl said over the noise of the hall, "please settle down so we can announce this year's Valentine's Prince and Princess."

"I kind of want to win Valentine's Princess, but I have a feeling it'll be Molly or that whore of a Slytherin Agatha Nott."

"Aw Vic, you really think I have a chance against Ag the Hag?" Molly said interrupting their dance with a blushing Chase Finnegan beside her. "And why didn't you tell me Teddy was coming? Was it a surprise? Teddy, why didn't you tell me you were surprising Vic?"

"Because you talk too much. Nice to see you again Chase." He said as he patted him on the back

"Oh shush, they're about to announce the winners." Molly snapped at the group.

"This year's Valentine's Day Prince is…Lex Alvarez." The crowd burst into a round of cheers and yells as Lex, Hogwarts' resident bad boy ran up to the stage and took his crown from McGonagall. "And joining him as Princess is…Roxanne Weasley." Teddy watched as all eyes went to a beautiful girl in a long silvery dress and it took him a while to put it all together.

"_That_ is Roxy?" he asked.

* * *

><p>Molly watched as her cousin stood in the middle of the floor, clearly embarrassed by all of the sudden attention. Most of the boys in the room looked like they'd seen the sun for the first time while their dates stared daggers at Roxy. This was just too dramatic for her taste, obviously if she won a lot of them had voted for her. <em>Damn hypocrites. <em>

"Woohoooo! Yeah Roxy!" Molly cheered, making Teddy, Vic and Chase join in as well. Eventually the students snapped out of their stupors and gave Roxy the applause she deserved. Even though Molly had really wanted to win, she thought it was way cooler for a third year to wipe out all of the older competition. She was ready for the surprise that Chase had told her about earlier, and frankly she was over the whole 'school dance' thing. "So Chase, are you ready to go?"

"Do you really want to go or do you just want to get your surprise?" he asked. He knew her very well.

"Both." She answered as she grabbed his hand. "Bye Vic! And Teddy, it wouldn't kill you to write."

"Same goes for you, and watch your hands Finnegan." He yelled. Chase immediately raised his hand higher toward her waist and Molly stuck out her tongue when Teddy started laughing. It was clear where James got his overprotective nature from. The two of them walked down the halls of Hogwarts, passing about a million couples that had ducked behind statues and broom closets.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked

"Some place really special. Come on." He quickened their pace so that they were practically skipping through the corridors. She knows it seems cliché, but there was honestly no other place or person she'd rather be with right now. Sometimes Molly couldn't help but wonder if all of it was too good to be true. As far as Hogwarts relationships went, theirs was pretty perfect. Other than the fact that Chase treated her like a child sometimes and cared a little too much about Quidditch, he was everything she could have asked for in a boyfriend. He was patient, attentive, romantic, and he always knew just how to calm her down when she was having a crazy moment. He brought out the best in her and she liked to think she brought out the best of him too. Since they had started dating he had met new people, gotten over his shyness, and loosened up a bit. They needed each other in a way that only the two of them could understand, and nothing would get in the way of that. "Alright, we're here."

"And where exactly is here?" she asked as she looked around the dark room. He pulled out his wand and muttered a spell, quickly illuminating the area. When the room was dimly lit, Molly could see that they were in a deserted classroom and he had made a picnic for the two of them. There was a basket and everything. "Chase, this was so sweet of you to do. Thank you."

"It was my pleasure. Shall we have a seat?" The two of them sat down on the pillows and Molly waited silently as he pulled out two plates and put a treacle tart on one and a ring box on the other. She looked at him with a confused expression as she grabbed the box and examined it closely. "Happy Valentine's Day Molly." He said as he opened the box. Inside was a small diamond ring that had two small rubies on it.

"Oh my god, it's gorgeous! Wait, are you proposing?" she asked in a panicked voice.

"No, it's a promise ring."

"Well what are you promising? To marry me?"

"No." he said with a small laugh. "Don't panic love, it's not an engagement ring, and I'm not asking you to marry me. I just want you to know that as cheesy as it sounds, you're it for me. I know you always say you need me, and don't know what you would be without me; but it's not like that for me. I know exactly what I would be without you and that's absolutely nothing. This ring is my promise to you, that I will love you and only you until the day I leave the earth." He slid the ring onto her finger and Molly couldn't help squeal at the beautiful piece of jewelry. There was no doubt his mother had picked it out; she had great taste.

"Thanks Chase, I love you too. This has been like the best Valentine's Day I've ever had." She responded gratefully.

"The best? Even though you didn't win Princess?" he asked.

"Oh please. When they have an award for a queen, then I'll be worried. Plus Rox deserved it; she looked amazing tonight." Molly had to admit that she had a hand in Roxy's make-over, so technically she had kind of won too.

"She looked nice, but you looked stunning." He said before kissing her passionately. In no time they were tangled up in each other and Molly had let her body take control of her actions rather than her brain. She mentally kicked herself as she tried to politely lead them back to a more PG position. It wasn't that she didn't want to go "there" with him, but she was way too young for any of that stuff. She could barely even say the word sex without giggling, which had to be some kind of sign that she wasn't ready. Molly loved Chase, but she knew sex with him this early would be a very bad idea. Even though he was sixteen and some of the girls in his year were sexually active, she was only fourteen and that would do serious damage to her reputation. Not to mention the fact that her mom would kill her, then once her dad found out why his wife had killed their daughter he would find a way to bring her back to life and kill her again. All of these thoughts were a serious mood killer, so Molly pulled away from Chase swiftly.

"My, would you look at the time?" she asked breathlessly. She gathered up her shoes and made her way to the door before Chase could even register what had happened. "Goodnight, thanks for the-"

"Wait, where are you going?" Chase asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, of course not. Tonight was perfect, I just needed to, well I guess I'm just…I don't know, I'm removing myself from temptation."

"Temptation?"

"Yes, temptation. You, Chase Finnegan, are very tempting- with your speeches, and gifts, and abs, and accent and all that." She confessed.

"And you're not?" he asked playfully. "You, Molly Olivia Weasley, are sinfully tempting."

"Well I assure you I'm not doing it on purpose." She said before running up to him and placing one last kiss on his lips. "Goodnight." And with that, she ran out of the room before he could say or do anything else. She ran down the corridors, thankful that she wasn't too unfamiliar with this area of the castle. As she was turning a corner she ran into someone tall and…shirtless? She removed her face from the boy's abdomen and blushed deeply when she realized who it was.

"Hasn't anyone told you not to run in the halls?" Carson teased.

"You scared the shite out of me Carson, why don't you have a shirt on?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but Elaina McLaggen has it. Why do you look so disheveled, and who were you running from?" he asked.

"I just left Chase." She answered simply, restraining herself from looking at his tan, lean body that she was certain hadn't been like that before.

"Permanently I hope. Trouble in paradise?"

"No. It's just…hot." She instantly resented that statement as the word hot made her look at his glorious six pack. He noticed the shift in her focus and smirked slightly at her discomfort.

"Tell me about it. Well I should be getting to my room now." He said as he walked towards her. He grabbed her cheek and placed a gentle kiss there before leaning in towards her ear. "Happy Valentine's Day." He whispered so softly that she thought she imagined it. All she could do was watch in silence as he quickly walked away from her. She couldn't help but laugh a little at the circumstances, considering why she'd left Chase to begin with. It reminded her of something her Aunt Ginny used to say: "Lead me not into temptation; I can find the way myself."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: It's been such a long time since I updated last, so I made this chapter extra long for you guys! Hope it makes up for how m.i.a. I've been. It's been a busy month, but I'm back! So I hope you guys liked the chapter :-)**

**-Jazz**


	22. 99 Problems

"If you're havin' girl problems  
>I feel bad for you son,<br>I got 99 problems but a chick ain't one"

-Jay-Z

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_Fred, you and I have the potential to be the most powerful guys here in a few years. Doesn't that sound amazing to you?" James asked excitedly. Fred hated when James got in these 'I have a great idea' moods. They were almost always terrible ideas and generally never ended well._

"_Not exactly, it sounds like a lot of work."_

"_True, but all that will be worth it in the end. Just go with me there, for a second." he said dramatically as he stared off into the distance. "We already have the status we need- I mean, we're from like the coolest family ever-, we've got the looks, I've got Quidditch, you've got brains, there's only one thing missing."_

"_Which is?" Fred asked. He honestly didn't want to know, but it was better to just go along with James when he got like this._

"_Girlfriends."_

_"Girlfriends. That's it? And this would make you popular because...?"_

_"_Because,_ every powerful man has a brilliant witch at his side. Don't you read? We should be dating the most beautiful, smartest, coolest girls in our year."_

"_But I'm only 11."_

"_We're almost 12, and what difference does that make? Love knows no age limits my friend."_

"_I seriously doubt that that's an actual saying. Did you just make that up?"_

_"Maybe," James admitted, "but it's true."_

_"Ok, so if 11 isn't too young to date, should Dom get a boyfriend?" he said, hoping James would realize how silly he sounded._

"_That is absolutely out of the question, she's way too young to date."_

_"Ah, my point exactly. Thanks Captain Hypocrite."_

_"Dom, dating? Blech, I can't even believe you would suggest that. "_

"_I'm just trying to reason with you. How crazy of me?"_

"_Extremely. Now let's go Freddy, we don't have time to waste."  
><em>

* * *

><p>It was already March, and Fred couldn't believe how fast the school year had gone. All in all he'd had an amazing time. He'd made top marks in their year, had tons of cool friends, and he had done it all without any drama. Fred liked to think this was because he was such a mellow guy. He liked to play pranks and wreak havoc, but he had tact, or swag, if you will. He stayed calm under pressure and always kept his cool in any situation. The only times he had really gotten in trouble was when it pertained directly to his sister. No one would ever say a bad word against Roxy without suffering serious consequences. She may have been older and she swore she could handle herself, but she was just too trusting and nice. Not to mention she wasn't ugly.<p>

Other than that, Fred lived a stress-free life, and he didn't understand why his family members couldn't be the same way. The only drama he ever dealt with was theirs. Vic was running rampant trying to be perfect, and she did way too much. If he didn't know she was only a sixth year, he would have thought she was Head Girl. Molly and her boyfriend were all over the place all of the time, which was disgusting. It was like they couldn't be separated by more than an inch. His sister was going through this 'I'm fourteen and too old to be bothered with you' phase. She had won Princess at the Valentine's Day ball, which third years weren't even supposed to be at, and it had kind of gone to her head. Dom was constantly arguing with Hollis. It was like they both were racing to see who Carter would laugh at, or who he'd defend first. Secretly, Fred was happy Carter didn't like Dom, because he didn't want to have to murder one of his best friends. Then lastly there was James, who decided that he needed a girlfriend now that he was 12. He made a list of all of the girls eligible in our year, but of course wants Fred to round them up like some game show he saw on Grandfather's telly at The Burrow.

And what problems did Fred have? None. His family was his problem; or better yet, their problems all became his problem because he didn't have his own to deal with. According to James, Fred's problem was that he was still single, but Fred had a simple solution to the so-called problem. He was going to ask somebody out. Maybe then James would realize how small of a deal the whole thing was anyway. He already knew that Leah Maddox was going to be the girl for him.

She was a Gryffindor and she fit the description to a tee. She was smart, brave, down to earth, funny, and she was one of the only girls in their class, besides Dom, to actually pet the Kelpie in Care of Magical Creatures; so she had to be a cool girl. She had straight, black hair that fell just past her shoulders and green eyes that stood out on her porcelain skin. She was a nice-looking girl, without even trying.

Yep, Leah was the one. The next time he saw her he was just going to go up to her and ask her out; simple as that. She would either say yes or no and he'd go on about his day. All he needed to do was find her. "Hey Dom!" he said to the girl who was staring out of one of the windows in the common room. "Why the long face?"

"Just stuff. You know?" she said sadly. He hated seeing her upset. He hated seeing anyone upset, which is how he always ended up talking to them about their problems. It's just the kind of guy he was.

"No, I don't know. Do you want to talk about it?" he really hoped she didn't want to; because there were only so many ways you could tell someone to let nature take its course. Actually that was the only way to say it, and yet she still didn't get it. He would tell her to be the bigger person and leave Hollis alone, she would say ok, then the next thing you know the two were fighting and Dom wasrambling about some bracelet popping. It was a sickening cycle.

"No, I feel like you're always trying to help everyone. Let's switch for a day; is there anything going on with you?"

"Not really, and you know I'll always be here to talk about anything with you, no matter what."

"Thanks, but I promise I'm fine. So there's absolutely nothing you need to tell me about?"

"No, but there might be soon. Have you seen Leah anywhere?"

"Leah? How interesting." She muttered to herself.

"What's that supposed to mean? He asked.

"Nothing. Last I heard she was going with some Slytherin guys to see who could hang upside down from a tree the longest."

"Is she there alone? I mean it's just her and a bunch of guys?"

"Yup. I asked if she wanted me to come, but she said she could handle herself and that she wasn't afraid of a few pre-pubescent snakes." She said as she shook her head. Leah was the smallest girl in their year but she thought she was the toughest. Nothing was ever too high, or too hard, or too anything for her. Fred thought that was pretty cool.

"Thanks, D." He made his way out to the gardens, to find the tree he knew she would be at. It was the hardest to climb and there's no doubt she'd have picked that one. When he reached the tree he was thinking about, he saw 4 guys underneath the tree, pouting while Leah and a guy Fred didn't know were still hanging upside down. Leah was winning? She was brilliant.

"Hey Leah!" he said casually. She squinted her eyes before smiling widely and waving.

"Hi Fred, would you care to join the party?"

"Nah, actually I was wondering if we could talk when you get a chance."

"Sure," she answered quickly, "let me just get down."

"You know if you get down, you forfeit." One of the pouting guys sneered. She rolled her eyes and pushed the other guy off of the tree. "Hey, that's cheating!"

"Actually we never said pushing wasn't allowed, the only rule was to see who could hang the longest; so I win. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a friend here waiting." She said, never moving from the branch. The boys all grumbled a bunch of nonsense as they huffed away, with whatever dignity they had left. He couldn't help but laugh.

"That was pretty impressive," Fred complimented. "What are you up to?"

"Oh you know, just hanging around." She said with a smile as she jumped down from the tree. She just got more and more amazing.

"I can see that. Do you have a minute to talk?"

"I think I have 60 seconds to spare. What's up?" she said as she tied up her hair in a high ponytail. He was so caught up in watching her that he forgot she'd asked him a question.

"I have a proposition for you; well it's more like a question." He choked out. Was he getting nervous? Weasley's did _not _get nervous.

"A proposition, eh? Well by all means, propose away." She said as she at Indian style on the ground in front of him. He joined her on the ground and sat so that their knees were touching.

"I was wondering if you'd like to be my girlfriend?" he said quickly and to the point. If he was going to do this he wasn't going to be a punk about it. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he figured that she may not have heard him. Perfect, he could just pretend he never said anything and go about his business; this was a stupid idea anyway.

"You want me to be your girlfriend?" she asked softly. So she had heard, and if Fred wasn't mistaken she was blushing. Maybe this wasn't a stupid idea. Maybe she liked him too. Wait, he liked her now? Just a second ago she was a proposition. "But why?" _Because I'm an idiot._

"Because I like you." He said confidently. It was true; he did like her. Only, it had just dawned on him that she might not like him, or even want a boyfriend, or want _him_ to be her boyfriend. What made him think she would just stop what she was doing and start dating him? He was a wreck inside. _Merlin._

"Oh. Well that's a good reason. I like you too." She said with a smile that quickly turned into a scowl. "This isn't some kind of prank is it? Is James going to pop out and start pelting me with water balloons if I say yes?"

"Absolutely not. I would never do that you." He answered honestly. "Wait, you like me too?"

"Yes." She said easily. There was no hesitation, or nerves in her voice and her expression hadn't changed at all. She really did like him.

"Well good, because I like you."

"Oh my goodness, my boyfriend likes me? How weird." She joked. Fred laughed, and then he realized what she had just said.

"Your boyfriend? So that's a yes then?"

"Yes." She said for the second time that day. So that was it, he had a girlfriend. He didn't feel any different though. Now they were just sitting here staring at each other uncomfortably. "Well, now what?"

"I don't know, really. I've never had a girlfriend before." He admitted.

"And you're my first boyfriend, so I guess neither of us really knows what to do. Great. The blind leading the blind." She said in a playful tone. She was so easy going and calm, he was glad they were doing this.

"Well we'll just have to figure it out together then."

"We could make a contract! Like a little agreement between us saying exactly what we want and how we think this relationship should go." She suggested.

"A contract?" he asked as she dug in her bag for some parchment and a quill.

"More like a list I suppose. That's one thing you'll learn about me; I love making lists. Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Alright then. Ladies first, state your terms Miss Maddox." He said, playing along with the whole legal thing.

"Ok, let me think. First off, no pet names. It's weird." _Whew._ Fred really didn't want to be referred to as baby, or pumpkin, or muffin.

"Agreed. I'd like to walk you to class, and sit with you during meals." He said as he watched her scribble down what he said.

"I'd like that. Now as far as hanging out goes, how often would you like alone time? I mean, just the two of us."

"As often as possible." He said, sounding a little too eager. "I mean, if you want of course."

"I think I'll underline that one." She said as her hair covered up her blush. "Now, about family-"

"Well you know most of mine, but I'll properly introduce you tonight in the common room. And you're welcome to sit with us. I know it seems like no one can go over there, but I'm sure they'll love you."

"Really?" she asked shyly. "Because I completely understand if you need separate time with your family; I don't want to intrude."

"Trust me, soon enough you'll be rearranging the contract asking for separate time away from my family. What about you, do you have any family here?" he asked.

"I have two older brothers. They're my step brothers actually, but we all like to pretend the other doesn't exist. So unless you're dying to meet them, we don't have to include them in this at all." She replied. He wanted to meet them, but it was pretty obvious they didn't have the best relationship. So for her sake, he'd just let it alone.

"Whatever you want is fine. What about time with the boys?" he asked, praying she wasn't the type to be all clingy and not let him see his friends.

"Sure, as long as I don't have to have time with the girls." She joked. "I think we have everything we need Mr. Weasley. Oh wait, what about physical contact?"

"I'm not opposed to the idea."

"What a coincidence; me neither." She said as she signed the bottom of the paper. "Sign here." He took the quill and signed his name as neatly as possible.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you. Should we shake on it? You know, to make it official?"

"What are we, 5?" she said before she leaned over and kissed him quickly on the lips. "Now, it's official."

He smiled the least manly smile he'd ever smile, but he could really care less. He was _that _happy. He stood up and tucked the contract in his pocket, before helping her off the ground. Fred made sure that their hands stayed connected as he led them towards the Great Hall for dinner. Here he was, walking hand in hand with one of the coolest girls he'd ever met; who was also now his girlfriend. Things were just too easy for Fred.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: If you were wondering, a Kelpie (the thing Leah touched in Care of Magical Creatures) is a mythical water horse that can disguise itself as a human and is always dripping no matter what form its in. Also, the relationship contract is an idea I got from myself. I made one with my first boyfriend and I still have it lol Anyway, hope you liked the chapter! Next up is James :-)**

**-Jazz**


	23. Girlfriend

"I've got everything I want in my life except a girlfriend  
>Got plenty clothes, plenty ice plenty cash<br>I got every single thing that I need  
>Except for a main squeeze"<p>

-B2K

_**Flashback  
><strong>_

* * *

><p><em>James was pissed. How could his only cousin- well his only male cousin at Hogwarts right now- betray him. What ever happened to blood being thicker than water? Apparantly paper was thicker than blood. <em>

_This all started last month when James suggested that he and Fred get girlfriends. Of course Fred had objected to the idea, but had agreed to help James. __It was supposed to be easy. James had made a list of the most eligible girls in their year, and Fred was supposed to just give them a time and tell them when to meet James for their date. It was sort of going tobe like The Bachelor, but way better. There were at least 15 girls invited, but only 4 showed up. And to make matters worse, the four that showed were awful to him. He had been called obnoxious, pig-headed, conceited, and a lot more. He didn't understand the girls' problems; if anything he should've been upset that he had to sit through talking to four crazy girls. Even Hollis, his own housemate, had gone mad when he told her why she was there. House unity must be a myth._

_James was completely done for when he went to tell Fred his problems, only to find him all googly-eyed with Leah Maddox. James got their attention quickly when he gasped loudly at the horrific sight before him._

"_Leah, can I have word with Fred?" he asked through clenched teeth. She nodded her head and gave him her full attention as if she was all ready to hear whatever he was going to say. "Alone!" he yelled. She rolled her eyes and kissed Fred on the cheek before skipping away. _You've got to be kidding me.

"_You didn't have to yell at her. What's up?" Fred asked calmly. Why he was always so calm, James would never understand. Even when they argued Fred would just shrug or nod his head making James feel like an idiot for being mad in the first place. Well not today, James was mad._

"_You and Leah are dating? Since when?" James asked his cousin, who he thought was his best friend and would have told him that._

"_It's been 2 weeks. I meant to tell you all that day, but I don't know; it slipped my mind."_

"_It slipped your mind that you have a girlfriend? For some reason I fid that highly unlikely." James scoffed. "Whatever happened to you being too young?"_

"_It's still true."_

"_And yet, here you are with a girlfriend."_

"_Yeah. It's complicated JP."_

"_I guarantee you it's not that complicated. I can't believe you would just stab me in the back like that. Everybody says you're so sweet, but really you can't be trusted."_

_"_I_ cant be trusted? You've gone mental." Fred said, maintaining his composure. It actually looked like he wanted to laugh._

_ "You went behind my back on the whole Leah thing and then didn't even tell me about it!"_

"_Can you blame me for keeping it to myself? Look at yourself! I knew you'd act like this, it's exactly why I didn't tell you."_

"_How am I acting?"_

"_Like a selfish, immature, jealous prat."_

"_Oh trust me, I'm _not_ jealous of you. I'm mad at you. How could you this when you acted like you hated the idea in the first place?"_

"_I only went for it because you were making such a big deal about it. I figured all-powerful James would have no trouble getting a date; how was I supposed to know that not one of your hand-picked girls wanted to be with you."_

"_How'd you know about that?" James asked, suddenly blushing from embarrassment._

"_My _girlfriend _told me." Fred sneered before walking away. Great. Now he had no girlfriend, and his best friend was mad at him. Awesome.  
><em>

* * *

><p>James, for the first time ever, felt alone. He and Fred hadn't spoken in weeks, and Dom had taken Fred's side on the whole situation. Not having his family talking to him, it was painfully obvious how many friends he didn't have. Before, he thought he had gotten to know at least a few people, but none of those people even really knew him. There was only one person that he really had a relationship with outside of his family; and you couldn't really called what he and Linden had a pleasant relationship.<p>

"Bloody hell, just when I think my day can't get any worse I find James Potter sitting under my tree." James looked up to see none other than Linden Love approaching him quickly.

"Speak of the devil and his daughter doth appear." He mumbled. James could tell she was in an especially scrappy mood today, seeing as she was scowling at him as if the tree really belonged to her. "Your tree? Did you plant it?"

"No, but my name is on it. " she said as she pointed to the bottom of the tree. He looked where she was pointing and low and behold the name 'Linden G Love' had been scratched into the bark. Only a tree-hugging freak would _actually _write their name on a tree so they could claim it as theirs. He pulled out his wand and blasted the wood, ridding the stump of her name and most of its bark. "James, you insensitive toad, you just almost set a tree on fire!"

"My, you're observant today." He said gloomily. All they ever did was bicker and fight but he wasn't up for it today. She got under his skin without even doing anything; it was so frustrating. "Listen Love, can we press pause on the whole 'love-hate relationship' thing for a minute?"

"It's more like hate-hate, but what brought this on? Usually you can't wait to argue with me or get on my nerves."

"Ditto, but I'm just not in the mood."

"I didn't know you had moods, I thought your only mood was git." She joked. He let out a deep breath at her joke. He really wasn't in the mood for games or tormenting or anything.

"I'm serious. Literally. Ugh, why can't I stop being so obnoxious?" he asked.

"I ask myself the same question every day." He rolled her eyes at her, "Sorry, I'm trying to treat you like a…friend, it's just unnatural. Ok, why don't you tell me what's wrong, and I'll _try _to help you out. But I can't make any promises."

Trusting her felt unnatural, but he was really in no position to turn down anyone's help. At this point he didn't have anything to lose. "I'll only tell you if you promise not to make fun of me, and swear you'll never repeat what I say."

"My lips are sealed. Go on."

"Alright; I don't have a girlfriend."

"Yes, and?"

"And nothing; that's it." He admitted. "Are you being dense on purpose? It doesn't suit you." She raised her fist as if she was going to hit him, but took a deep breath before speaking.

"I'm going to let that slide because it was _almost_ a compliment but no, I'm not being dense. I really don't understand the problem."

"Why don't I have a girlfriend? I mean, what's wrong with me?" he asked.

"Where do I begin? Well, for starters you're 12."

"Fred's 11."

"But he doesn't act or look it, really." she said carefully, like her words might set him off. "You, on the other hand, are the most immature boy I've ever met. And they don't do anything but talk and hold hands, it's not even that serious."

"What about Carter and Hollis? They're 12, and they're dating."

"They aren't really dating, they're just kind of getting to know each other I guess. Hollis isn't even allowed to date until she's 13; her dad's really strict and scary."

"Alright, so I'm too young. But why don't people even want to get to know me? I'm Harry Potter's son for cripes sake."

"That's part of it right there; 'I'm Harry Potter's son, blah blah blah!'. You use your dad like that'll make people want to fawn over you or something. He's your dad, not your wingman."

"I do not do that all of the time." He lied.

"Negative. You always throw out your last name, like that's supposed to give you special treatment."

"You would too if you could."

"No I wouldn't; and no one else in your family does either. You are the only person that uses that as a crutch, and it makes you seem kind of fake." She said.

"Fake? No no no, James Potter is not fake."

"But James Potter _does_ refer to himself in 3rd person." She laughed. "And it's equally annoying."

"Yeah, go ahead laugh. My misery is hilarious."

"Don't you ever get tired of being so pompous and arrogant all of the time? It would probably do you some good to loosen up a bit." She said as she poked him in head.

"I just feel like this is who I'm supposed to be. A leader, someone people look up to. And to do that you have to be popular." He confessed. James couldn't believe he was pouring his heart out to his biggest enemy, but she was all he had at the moment.

"You don't have to be popular for people to look up to you. It's not about popularity, it's all about who you are."

"Who I am? Meaning?"

"Fr example, people look up to Victoire. Not because she's good looking or because she's a Weasley with hundreds of friends, but because she's kind, and caring, and has a general concern for the well-being of other people. They look up to her because she is a good person. Don't you view her as a role model?" she asked.

"Of course I do; she's brilliant. But she's older, I'm just a first year."

"But at some point she was a first year too, and she probably didn't spend that time plotting ways for people to like her when she was a sixth year. She was just herself, and people admire that about her."

"She's a good person though, I've been pretty horrible this year."

"That doesn't make you a bad person James; you just made bad choices. It's not too late to turn it around though."

"You think so?"

"Yes I do, because you're not a bad person. You have good intentions, you just go about most things the wrong way. For starters, the whole girlfriend fiasco with Fred. A real friend wouldn't have been upset, he would have been happy that Fred was happy. Did you even ask Fred about it? Or did you just attack him?"

"It was kind of like an attack I guess-"

"And did you apologize? Or did you just expect him to forgive you because you're James Potter."

"Ok ok, I guess I see your point. I'll try to work on it."

"Good; because I did not spend all this time talking to you for it to go in one ear and out the other." She said making both of them laugh. This was nice; he hadn't really laughed since he got to Hogwarts 7 months ago. "You'll be ok JP. If you just let more people see this side of you, you'll start noticing a change in their attitudes toward you."

"Same goes for you; whoever knew you could be nice or personable?" he teased.

"A lot of people. But don't get used to it, I only did it to get you to see that you aren't _that_ terrible of a person."

"Thanks Love, you're not too bad yourself."

"And… that's my limit right there; we can go back to being however we are now."

"Yeah it was getting weird." He said before an awkward silence. She had really helped him out, but now he wasn't sure if he should try to make conversation, insult her, or just walk away. "So, would you like me to walk you back?"

"Would you like to witness me throwing up my lunch? Thanks, but no thanks." She replied in her usual tone. _Insults it is then._

"Hey, I was just asking. I figured you'd want some company in case you ran into some merpeople and they started begging you to come back home."

"How would the merpeople get on land idiot?"

"I don't know. It's your species, you tell me."

"Har har, you're hilarious. You should be a comedian, at least then you'd get paid to be laughed at mercilessly."

"People don't laugh at me!"

"Well, they're definitely not laughing with you." She jeered before walking away. "Clown!"

"Prude!"

"Git!"

"Pixie!"

"Troll!"

"You know I hate you right?"

"Impossible, everyone loves me. It's my last name." she said, causing both of them to laugh. "Boom! Straight out of the James Potter playbook."

He continued laughing as she walked away towards the castle. Maybe she had a point; maybe he was a bit too into himself. Ok, new plan. James wasn't going to try to be the most powerful guy at Hogwarts, he was going to try to be himself. Easy. He was going to apologize to Fred, and the girls, and even send Linden an anonymous thank you gift. He would focus on Quidditch, pranking, school and fun, like a boy his age should. He wanted to start making real friends, and getting to know some of the other people at school. He would not lighten up on Chase though; James could not stand him. He would try to be less jealous and more relaxed, and one day, far far into the future, he might try getting a girlfriend again. But for now he was just going to enjoy being 12.


	24. Never Gonna Happen

"How could I be any more obvious?  
>It never really did<br>And now it's never  
>Gonna happen with the two of us"<p>

-Lily Allen

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Roxy couldn't believe she had won Valentine's Day Princess. First of all, she was only a third year, and second, she hadn't even known she was going until a week ago. Either way, she had beaten out Vic, Molly, and Agatha Nott, which wasn't an easy feat. As expected, the Prince was Lex Alvarez, and apparently they were expected to waltz in front of everyone. _Perfect. _It wasn't that Roxy didn't want to dance with him; it was more like she never wanted to touch him. No exaggeration, the boy was the definition of the type of guy you should stay away from. He was obnoxious, conceited, rude, selfish, and had no regard for other people's feelings. Somehow he had friends, and for some reason Molly was one of them. How that worked she would never understand._

_The worst part about him- and the part that deepened Roxy's dislike for him- is that he's extremely attractive. Lex was tall, dark and handsome, and had a slight Puerto Rican accent that stood out vividly. His short, black hair was always perfectly 'messy' and he had a tendency to wear his shirts half-way unbuttoned and try to make it look like it was an accident. Yes, he was a good-looking, but that didn't make up for how sleazy he was. She'd heard that he snogged every girl in his year just to say that he did, not to mention the fact that he'd been seen escaping from the girls' dormitories time and time again. _

_If Roxy could avoid him forever she would, but of course they were now going to have to dance alone in front of everyone. She took a deep breath, trying to look as unfathomed as possible, but he was grinning at her like a Cheshire cat as she made her way to meet him in the middle of the dance floor._

"_Well well well, Roxanne Weasley. I don't believe we've officially met; much to my disfortune." He said as he pulled her a little too close to him. _Oh brother.

"_Alexander Alvarez, I've heard loads about you." He smiled his stupid, cocky smile and she laughed. "No need to get all big-headed, none of them have been particularly good things."_

"_Feisty; I like it. But you shouldn't listen to rumors, they have a tendency to be a bit exaggerated." He said with confidence. Oh yeah? And she was the Queen of England._

"_So you haven't snogged every girl in your year?" she challenged._

"_Well yes, but not all of them at once. I'm not a monster; unless you like that." He said as he waggled his eyebrows. She smacked him on the back of the head and gave a satisfied smirk when everyone watching them laughed._

"_You better behave or this dance will be cut short."_

"_Oh come on Roxanne, I'm just joking around."_

"_It gives me the greatest pleasure to be the first person to tell you that you aren't funny."_

"_I'm not that bad."_

"_True, but you're not that great either."_

"_Ouch, way to knock a guy down." He said, pretending to be hurt._

"_What can I say? I love bursting people's bubbles." _

"_So I've noticed." He said, even though he was still smiling. "But enough with the pithy banter; I should tell you that you look ravishing. It's taking everything in me to continue being a gentleman right now."_

"_This is you being a gentleman?" she asked sarcastically. "Wow, I'm honored."_

"_Oh Roxy, what ever am I going to do with you?"_

"_Nothing if I can help it." She grumbled, yet he continued smiling as if she'd just said she would marry him. She truly didn't understand him now. Yes, he was still an arrogant wart, but he wasn't as dumb as he looked; he was even being relatively decent during their waltz. They had been silent for a few minutes, and Roxy could feel moisture between their hands but couldn't tell who was sweaty. Hopefully it was him; she'd rather not give him the satisfaction of thinking he'd had any kind of effect on her._

"_What are you thinking right now?" he asked suddenly._

"_Honestly? I'm thinking that they need to get better food at these things. The finger foods are cute and all, but I'm hungry." She answered truthfully. _

"_You know what? You're not like other girls Roxanne. You're sassy, smart, athletic, a bit of a challenge… I like you." He said nonchalanty. The sensible side of her wanted to snort or something, but that small (girly) part of her that kind of wanted a boyfriend was flattered. She wouldn't show him that though._

"_Ha. And I'm supposed to believe that you like me after waltzing around for three minutes? Keep dreaming." _

"_How do you know I just started liking you? Maybe I've been admiring you afar." _Impossible.

"_I don't believe you."_

"_Believe this." He said as he dipped her and stared straight into her eyes. His lips met hers, and neither closed their eyes as the music stopped and the other people at the ball clapped at the 'performance'. She blushed at the intimacy of their moment and held on tightly to his muscular arms as he pulled them back to an upright position. "Like I said, I like you. I'll go get us some drinks." With that he walked away, leaving her a bit flushed as she stood in the middle of the dance floor. She didn't have much time to reflect on he first kiss, because there was a red haired guy storming towards her with a petite blond tagging behind. _Oh boy.

"_Teddy! It's so good seeing you, how's school? It's a bit toasty in here, I think I'll go-"_

"_Not so fast Roxy, what are you doing here? Do your parents know about this?" Teddy asked. Roxy was about to explain herself, then she realized she was too old for this; he needed to chill._

"_Yes my parents know. How'd you get in here? I'm sure Aunt Ginny wouldn't approve of you being out here when you could be studying or something."_

"_Alright you two, that's enough. Teddy, you're going to ruin her moment." Vic interrupted. "So Roxy, how was it?"_

"_Intense. Weird. Perfect. I don't know, it seemed so wrong because he's such an asshole, but it felt so right, you know?" she babbled. "I'm probably not making any sense. I'm gonna go find Lex, ok?" She walked away from Vic and made her way to the refreshments table where she didn't see Lex. That was strange. She walked out of the hall with anxiety building in her stomach. If their first kiss was that amazing she couldn't wait to see what the second would be like. _

_Even though she had wanted nothing to do with him ten minutes ago, there was something interesting about Lex that she couldn't put her finger on. Yes, he was a self-centered asshole, but he was also mysterious and interesting and complicated and…snogging some girl in the corridor. Shit. Now she felt like an idiot. She had fallen for his stupid charm like every other witch in the school. She wondered who he'd been kissing before her? He probably didn't like her at all and just wanted to add her to his list of kissed. Well Roxanne Weasley was _not_ the one. She pulled her wand out of her ponytail, pointed it at his foot, and muttered the word 'Incendio' as softly as she could before running away. Hopefully all the sleaze would burn right off._

_She stomped angrily down the halls, but had to admit this would be kind of funny eventually. Her date was gay, her prince was a whore, and her feet hurt. _

_Classic.  
><em>

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><p>It's really hard to avoid someone when you live within 100 feet of each other, have mutual friends, and one of them is a slimy git that can weasel their way almost anywhere. It had been 4 long months since she made the mistake of letting Lex kiss her, and 4 months since she had acknowledged his pathetic presence on the earth. As far as Roxy was concerned, Lex Alvarez could fall off of a cliff and she wouldn't even blink one of her perfectly mascaraed eyes. The only problem with avoiding someone is that in order to know where not to be, you have to know where they are. That meant that for the last 4 months she had known almost every move Lex had made; and that was weird. Roxy knew his class schedule, where he usually sat for lunch, when he had free periods, and a whole lot of other random information about him. She felt like a stalker.<p>

Stalker or not, she refused to give him the time of day. She would not ruin her 'holier than thou' reputation for the likes of Alexander Alvarez. Every time they made eye contact in the hallways or common room she could see that he wanted to speak, but she would dodge him, or make herself seem otherwise occupied so as to keep him away from her. The last thing she wanted to do was be near him ever again. Was she taking this too far? Maybe. Was he _really _trying to get near every chance he could? Probably not; but she wasn't taking any chances.

It was the last day of school, so she'd only had a few classes and a train ride left to avoid the idiot. There was no way she would have to see him until later on the ride back to King's Cross Station, but she could use her family as body guards. If she wanted to be a real party pooper, she'd tell her little brother to keep an eye on him.

She went to meet Grayson in the library so she could say goodbye before they left for the summer. He'd turned out to be a really great friend this year, and it would be weird not seeing him every day for a while.

"Roxy, we've had a good year, yeah?" he asked as soon as she reached the table.

"Yeah, it's been…eventful. So what did you want to talk about?"

"Well first off I wanted to thank you. Just for being my friend, and for being so understanding about the whole man situation."

"Wait, man situation? Is that what you're calling it these days?" she teased

"Well yeah, I'm not just going to throw out the word gay everywhere; it's too obvious."

"Man situation sounds gross though. It makes it seem like you have a problem in your…nether regions."

"Ok, getting back on subject- aside from thanking the sweetest, most beautiful girl for being such an amazing friend, I need a favor."

"Of course you do. There's no way a Slytherin is going to thank me without expecting something in return." She teased. "What's the favor?"

"I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend for the summer." Roxy looked at him for a while, just making sure he had said what she thought she'd heard him say. He was serious.

"But you just came out, you want to go back to pretending to be straight? I don't get it."

"Technically I only came out to you, so as far as the rest of the world knows I _am_ straight. I just need you to come to our house for dinner one night, just to get my dad off my back."

"I understand that you want your dad to think you're straight still, but I'm probably one of the worst choices to bring home to your family. A Weasley at the Goyle Mansion? I'm pretty sure your dad would rather you be gay." She said honestly. It wasn't like the whole blood status thing really mattered anymore, but it definitely hadn't gone away; especially with the old school families like the Goyle's.

"Don't worry about that; I would never put you in a situation where you would be in danger or feel uncomfortable. I just need some time." He said with pleading eyes.

"It's not the danger I'm worried about, it's that rotten sister of yours." She confessed. Jada Goyle had a nasty attitude towards everything in life. She was a bossy perfectionist that wanted everything to go her way, and that was usually the case when Roxy wasn't involved. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't back down from a challenge; it was in her blood.

"Jada's not that bad away from Hogwarts, it's just that when we get here she tries to prove herself or something. I don't know, but don't worry about her. My brother would probably piss his pants if he saw you in our house, and you'd get to meet the new baby. Come on Roxy, it won't be that bad. If we're going to be friends you have to trust me a little more." She wished she could get it through to him that he shouldn't hide himself from his own family. Since that obviously wasn't going to happen she did the only thing she could.

"Fine, I'll do it; but I'd have to get my dad's permission, who would have to speak with Fred first."

"Thanks! You're beautiful Roxy- inside and out. I'd kiss you but that'd be weird."

"Yeah yeah yeah. So, have you found any cute guys that you like?"

"Oh yeah, there's just loads of gay guys roaming the halls and waiting for me to sweep them off their feet. Especially in Slytherin." He said sarcastically.

"You'd be surprised. I mean I don't know anyone else personally, but I've heard things. I could do some research for you; I mean, I've also heard I can be pretty sneaky."

"Wait, you know of some other guys here that are like me?" he asked. She couldn't help but smile at the sound of hope in his voice.

"Well, yeah. Apparantley there's Chris Grant from Ravenclaw, and the MacMillan twins from Hufflepuff and um…Chase!" she shouted.

"Ew, Finnegan?"

"No, Chase is coming over here."

"Hello Roxy, Goyle. Um Rox, Molly's been looking for you. She told me to tell you to meet her in her room in 5 minutes and it's important."

"But the trains will be leaving soon-"

"I don't know, she said it was an emergency. See you on the train." He said quickly. That was weird, but then again Chase Finnegan was the exact definition of weird.

"Alright then, I should go see about Molly. But we'll finish this discussion later." She gave him a long hug and a kiss on the cheek, just in case she didn't get to see him for a while. It took her no time at all to reach the tower, and she barged into Molly's room, not sure of what state she would find her cousin in. "Molly? Molly what is it?"

"Rox, I can't find my barrette! You know the silver one that's shaped like a butterfly with the yellow crystals that Aunt Fleur gave me? I can't find it anywhere!" she screamed. _Seriously?_

"That's the big emergency? You lost your hair pin?"

"Not just any hair pin, my favorite one in the whole world."

"That's like the only one you have."

"Which is why it's my favorite!" she screamed before ducking under her bed to look. Roxy did a quick scan of the dresses, the floor and the bed, but she didn't see it anywhere. Molly came back up and let out a frustrated sigh. She blew a piece of hair away from her face and Roxy noticed something shiny near her ear.

"Hey Mo, is your barrette missing a stone in the middle?" she asked.

"I think so, why?"

"Because it's on your head you lunatic!"

"Oh, silly me! I guess we better go then." She chimed as she pulled Roxy out of her soon to be old room. They went down the stairs at an unusually fast pace, and Roxy didn't even have time to ask questions before she was standing face to face with none other than Lex Alvarez. Molly had tricked her; that back-stabbing twit!

"Roxy! I've been looking for you all day!" he said as if she cared.

"Lex! What a coincidence, I've been avoiding you all day!" she commented as she tried to make her way past him. He put his arm between her and the door and she looked at him as evilly as she possibly could. "If you want to keep that arm I suggest you move it."

"No need for hostility Roxanne, I just want to talk. Thanks for helping Mo." He said as he pushed Roxy behind him. He let Molly through the portrait hole and she gave Roxy an apologetic look before ducking out of the room. She would pay for this. "Now; Why on earth have you been avoiding me?"

"Because I don't want to talk to you; is that not obvious?"

"Yes, but now that I have your attention I can ask you what I've been meaning to ask you. Will you go out with me?"

"No. That was a stupid question."

"My dad says there's no such thing as a stupid question."

"Your dad's lying."

"Seriously? Your answer is no?" he asked.

"No, my answer is abso'freaking'lutely not." She corrected.

"But why?"

"Oh, don't act like you're so upset. I'm sure you'll be asking out someone else in 10 minutes anyway. That's how you do it, isn't it?" she asked

"What are you talking about?" he asked confused.

"Oh my word. The night of the Valentine's Dance you tell me you like me, kiss me, then ditch me to go snog some other girl in the hallway. You must really think all girls are stupid."

"Wait, that's what you're all pissy about? She's an old friend who caught me off guard; it didn't mean anything."

"Ha, of course it didn't. And our kiss didn't mean anything either."

"That's not true. I really do like you, which is why I'm asking you out. I'd really like to get to know you better."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you asking me out? There has to be some prolific, douche bag reason other than 'I like you'. I'm actually kind of excited to hear it; I haven't had a good laugh today."

"We should be together because it makes sense. You're gorgeous, I'm not bad looking, we're both young and ambitious, you play Quidditch, I'm future head boy. We're the next Damarco and Vic; Plus we've got the whole love-hate chemistry thing going on." Roxy let him finish completely before laughing harder than she had ever had. He was funny; at least there was one redeeming quality.

"That was inspired, but the answer is no."

"Still no?"

"Yeah, sorry. Actually I'm not sorry, fancy that." He smiled a genuine smile before sighing in defeat.

"You know I'm not going to give up right? I'm just going to keep asking and asking and asking."

"That's fine. I can turn you down in 12 different languages."

"Guess I'll have to ask 13 times then."

"How about this. You come up with _one_ good reason- and I mean a legit, well thought out reason that makes a little sense- and then _maybe _I'll consider thinking about going out with you someday. Deal?" she asked sticking her hand out. He grabbed her hand and shook it firmly.

"Deal. You got spunk Weasley, I respect that. Can I least get a hug goodbye? I mean, I won't see you again for 3 months; I need something to hold me over."

"You've made it 16 years without me, three months won't kill you." She said as she slid under his arm and made for the trains. She realized she now had the upper hand in this twisted little relationship and she could have a little fun with it. She turned back towards him a leaned up until she was almost touching his ear. "Plus, absence makes the heart grow fonder." She whispered in her most seductive voice.

She turned around and practically skipped down the halls. What an interesting ending to a very eventful year; this could be fun.

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><p><strong>AN: Another chapter done! Hope you liked it :-) Next up: Teddy! Thanks to EVERYONE that has read, favorited, reviewed, etc., I really appreciate it! If you're looking for another story to read, check out Diaries of the Heavy Hearted...it's a fic I just started that's a little more fast-paced and edgy. Go check it out! (k, im done rambling lol)**

**-Jazz**


	25. In The Real World

**I haven't updated in forever, but it's the end of the semester and finals and things have been a killer. Tomorrow is my last day of finals before the Holiday break, and after that I will be back to updating more regulary. SO sorry! Hope this chap. makes up for it!**

**-Jazz**

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><p>"I love you<p>

And you love me  
>But sometimes we must let it be<br>In the real world."

-Roy Orbison

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><p><em>Teddy remembered when he was younger, and he would spend all of his time at The Burrow running around, making sure the younger kids were all happy. He would run around all day reading, playing, and breaking up fights- then he would remember he had forgotten about Vic, and spend the last 30 or so minutes with her. That was definitely not the case today.<em>

_He was all over Victoire like white on rice the minute she walked into the house. It wasn't respectable or gentlemanly behavior at all, but he hadn't seen her since February, and even then she had mostly been mad at him. Thanks to his class schedule at the Salem Institute, he had missed the annual summer vacation and she had spent the following week in France with her Aunt Gabrielle. Long story short, he missed her- bad. And judging by the urgency in her snogging she had missed his as well._

_It couldn't be fair for the two of them to love each other so much. Teddy knew for a fact that some people never found true love, and he had grown up with it, whether he was aware of it or not. He had gone on and on to his roommate about Victoire from the time they moved in to the minute they left for the summer. _

"_Ted, I think we should go check on the kids."_

"_You say that like they're our kids Vic; I'm sure they'll manage." He asked as he attempted to continue kissing her._

"_But they haven't seen you in forever. I know they miss you like crazy."_

"_I've missed you more."_

"_I doubt it. But seriously, you need to at least say hello, everyone's probably wondering where you are. I know the adults are dying to hear about the end of your training."_

"_And I'll tell them and give everyone my full attention…later, but you're my biggest priority right now." _

"_Oh? And how high on your list of priorities is telling the family about our relationship?" All of a sudden, Vic was dying to tell her family about their relationship, but Teddy just didn't feel like going through the motions right now. "Unless you prefer to keep me hidden from my own family for the rest of my life; that should be interesting. I'm sure no one would suspect a thing."_

"_Tori, you know I don't want to keep you hidden. We're not hiding; we're just prolonging telling them until the time is right."_

"_When will be the right time Teddy? Next month, next year? Please, you know I can't keep things from my mother and I'm dying to tell her! I figured you'd be happy that I'm ready to final do this."_

"_I am happy, I just have an inkling you know?"_

"_An inkling?"_

"_Yeah, I just feel like the timing isn't right." He tried. It was so hard to explain something like an 'inkling' to such a logical person, and he could see that she was pretty upset._

"_Well you can shove your inkling right up-"_

"_Teddy! There you are," Ginny called. "We've been looking for you for ages, you have a meeting with McGonagall in 15 minutes; you'll apparate there with Harry."_

"_Alright mum, I'll be right in." he called before turning back to his girlfriend. She looked upset and a little angry, and Teddy could see how keeping them a secret was only going to hurt her, which was the opposite of what he wanted. "I love you, you know that?"_

"_Yeah, I know. I love you more than anything else in this world. Know that."_

"_I do. We'll tell the family as soon as I get back, after I speak to Bill first of course."_

"_I know I know, we'll just have to wait till- Wait, you want to tell them today? Really, you mean it?"_

"_Yes. I promised to keep you happy for the rest of your life and I plan on doing just that. This will make you happy; so we tell them."_

"_I love you so much, thank you! You don't know how crazy I've been going trying to keep this from everyone." She said, going back to her usual bubbly self. "Now hurry and get to your meeting, no boyfriend of mine is going to be late!"  
><em>

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><p>Teddy had always thought his return to Hogwarts would be a lot more sentimental, but all he could think about as he walked the halls toward the Headmistresses Office was how he was going to tell Bill Weasley that he was in love with his daughter. Just about everyone but Bill and Louis were likely to be thrilled. Bill because Vic is his first daughter and Louis because he would side with his dad on the matter.<p>

To be honest, Teddy didn't really care what they had to say. He would be there for Victoire until the day she told him not to anymore, which he hoped was never. Teddy hadn't even noticed they had walked all the way to McGonagall's office until he heard Harry give the password and nudge him towards the stairs.

"Mr. Lupin, please have a seat. How are you dear?"

"I'm just fine Professor-"

"Please, you are no longer a student, call me Minerva."

"Very well," he answered, not completely comfortable with calling her by her first name. "I hope you don't mind me being so short, but may I ask why you called this meeting? Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course. My dear colleague, Professor Cromkite, recently resigned from her teaching position, leaving the Defense Against the Dark Arts post open. There has been a high demand for the position, but we don't feel that any of the applications we received were up to par with the standards we have set here at Hogwarts. I, along with the other teachers, feel that it would be in the best interest of the students and the school's reputation to hire someone that w we know and trust could handle any and all situations the position may entail. We would like to formally offer you the position as the new DADA professor."

_What? He had not been expecting that._

"Me? But I'm so…young."

"Yes, and that would be a problem if we didn't feel you were more than qualified for the job. You excelled in all of your courses here at the school and have been performing at an even faster rate in the Salem program. You demonstrate solid leadership skills and have a natural way of connecting with your peers. We would love to have you teaching; so what do you say?"

"I'd be honored to, thank you."

"Very good. We will transfer all of your things here toward the beginning of August and work out all of the details then. I'm thrilled to have you on board."

"Thanks again, I promise to do my absolute best."

"I know you will; however, I fear there is one more thing we need to discuss."

"Yes professor?"

"As a teacher, you will not be allowed to share any kind of relationship with any of the current students." She said, looking him straight in the eye. He wasn't exactly sure where she was going with this; he had never known McGonagall to speak about personal matters with students. "We will not tolerate such interactions, no matter what your relationship was prior to your hiring."

"Ok." He answered, still not sure what the point of this was.

"With that being said, I feel that it would be imperative to inform you that the Head Girl for this year is, as expected, Victoire Weasley."

"Oh." Teddy said, finally realizing what the Headmistress was hinting at. Throughout this whole conversation Teddy hadn't thought of his girlfriend once. He had always wondered how McGonagall always knew everything; it was no surprise that hadn't changed, even though he wasn't a student anymore. So now what was he supposed to do?

"Outside of the classroom, you are to have no physical relationship with any student. Violation of this rule will result in termination and expulsion for you both. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am." He answered, unable to really say anything else at the moment.

"Excellent. I trust that you'll keep the news about our Head Girl between the three of us. As I'm sure you remember, opening the envelope is half the surprise."

"Yes ma'am."

"Minerva." She corrected.

"Right, sorry."

" Mr. Potter, you can come in now, even though I know you've heard everything." She said to the door. Harry walked in sheepishly, but Teddy could sense that his dad wasn't really ashamed at all.

"You offered my son that job and didn't even consider me? I'm hurt." Harry teased.

"Well for one, you can't sit still long enough to teach and entire day of classes. And if you worked here, it wouldn't be nearly as fun to call you to my office on James' behalf."

"Good point; it's fun to pop-up every now and then. Well, we better be on our way. See you around Minerva."

"Yes, right around September 1st. Please send my love to you family, and Teddy, we're really excited to have you back."

"I'm looking forward to coming back."

Teddy really was excited to be back, but at the same time he'd rather not come anywhere near the school at all now that he knew what the consequences were. Once the summer ended, he was going to be Victoire's teacher; that just sounded so creepy. He would have to stand up in front of her and hundreds of his former school mates, and pretend that she was just another girl. They thought being apart for a year was hard- well, being together for a year without being able to "be together" was going to be even harder.

Teddy considered not taking the job, but he had already promised and his dad had seemed really excited. Plus, it wasn't every day that a 21-year-old got offered their dream job at one of the most prestigious magic schools in the country. He also considered breaking up with Vic, which was clearly not going to be an option; especially since he had already promised to tell the family about them upon his return. She would be heartbroken, and the worst part was that he couldn't even tell her why they couldn't tell them until the end of the summer.

His other option, and the one that seemed the most logical, was to just avoid her as much as he possibly could. He was going to do his best to stay away, because he couldn't risk her Head Girl position. It was something she had been dreaming about since he told her about it 9 years ago. They weren't going to be able to tell anyone about their relationship, otherwise she would be removed from the position before she even learned she had earned it. Unfortunately, he knew they were going to have to have a tough conversation. Teddy longed for the days when he and Vic could just have it easy. Nothing for them, in their entire 18 and 20 years of life, had ever been easy.

I guess these were some of the decisions Harry always said he would face once he left college and entered the "real world." It had only been a year since Teddy left Hogwarts and officially started his life, but he could already tell that the real world was not going to be very kind to him.


	26. Me And My Gang

**I know, I have given a new meaning to the term "Missing in Action" BUT I am hoping that these 3 chapters will make up for it. Happy Holidays!**

**p.s.: I promised my little sister I would dedicate a Chapter to the little kids, so this ones full of little kiddies lol You're welcome Reese!**

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><p>It's a brother and a sister kind of thang<p>

Raise up your hands if you all wanna hang  
>With me and my gang<br>We live to ride, we ride to live  
>Me and my gang"<p>

-Rascal Flatts

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Molly rolled her eyes as she walked into her father's study. She had no idea what he could possibly want and he was interrupting her daily relax time._

"_Dad, you wanted me?" she said with as much attitude as she could muster. Over the years she learned that the shorter he was with Percy, the easier he got frustrated and dismissed her._

"_Hello princess, have a seat please." He said in his 'let's get down to business' voice. She could only imagine what he was going to make her do. "How are you doing?"_

"_I'm quite enjoying myself, thank you father. May I ask why we are being so formal within our own household?" she said sarcastically. Her father sighed as he put down the papers he had been reading and turned to give her his full attention._

"_Sarcasm doesn't suit you Molly Olivia; I merely want to discuss what your plans are for the summer."_

"_Oh, I don't have any. I'll just being hanging out mostly." She answered. Her dad shook his head. "Or not. What's wrong with just relaxing? That's what kids my age do."_

"_Not anymore. You're going into your fifth year at school and it's time for you to consider doing something that will help you down the line when you're applying for jobs."_

"_Doesn't that seem a bit pre-emptive? I mean, what exactly do you expect me to do? And don't say work at the ministry because I will poison myself."_

"_Well Teddy is finishing up his program in America, Victoire is interning with your Aunt Hermione at St. Mungo's, Chase and Roxy are going to Quidditch camp, and even that friend of yours Lex Alvarez is helping out in the Department of Magical Law this summer. So I'll ask again, what are your plans for the summer?" Molly couldn't believe that none of her 'friends' had told her about their super important, future-changing, summer plans. If she had known she might have signed up for something. _

"_I guess I don't have any. Did you have something in mind?"_

"_Actually I do. Your grandmother needs someone to babysit the younger kids for a few weeks." Molly laughed loudly at her father's ridiculous idea._

"_Mom always said you had a funny side and I never believed her, but Dad, that was hilarious. Seriously, what am I going to do?" Her dad only raised an eyebrow in response and she realized he wasn't kidding. "Fine, I'll work at the ministry. Could I work with Uncle Ron? Then at least I'd have something to laugh at."_

"_You'll be going to your Grandmothers from 8 to 4 Monday through Friday for the next two weeks. No if's, and's or but's about it."_

"_But, I don't want to! And why baby-sitting? If I have to work or whatever could it at least be something worthwhile? Why can't I model like mom used to?"_

"_This is worthwhile Molly, it will teach you some responsibility." _

"_I really appreciate the offer, but don't you think this job is better suited for Vic or a nanny or something? The little kids don't even like me."_

"_Well here's your chance to win them over; Now run along, or you'll be late." He said before turning his attention back to the papers on his desk. She got up and stomped away as loudly as she could without getting yelled at. _

_This summer was going to suck.  
><em>

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><p>"Molly, I'm bored." Lily whined for the millionth time that day.<p>

"Geez, why?"

"I don't know."

"Go do something then. Play with the boys." Molly suggested as she flipped a page of her TeenWitch magazine. It was day three of her dummy mission and it was just as awful as the first had been.

"They won't let me." Lily said.

"Play with Lucy then."

"I can't find her." she responded while jumping on the back of the couch.

"What do you mean you can't find her?"

"I don't know."

"What _do_ you know Lily?"

"I don't know." She looked over Molly's shoulder, making strands of frustratingly red hair cover the article she had been looking at. "What are you reading?"

"None of your business, go away!" she huffed. This did not sit well with Lily, who hopped down and walked around the couch until she was face to face with Molly. "What?"

"You're no fun. Teddy and Vic are fun."

"Well I'm not Teddy or Vic."

"I. Want. To. Play!" she said as she snatched the magazine out of Molly's hand.

"Give me my magazine back before I call your mum!" Molly said in her serious voice. Lily folded her arms and raised an eyebrow pretty challengingly.

"No. You play with us before I call _your _dad. I bet he didn't send you here to sit on your butt all day."

"You wouldn't." Molly snorted. Lily smirked and pulled out a cellphone from her jacket pocket. _Why does she have a cell phone?_ "Fine! What would Victoire do if she was here?"

"Well she'd probably have us doing activities. Like arts and crafts or telling stories."

"Yeah, that's not happening. What about Ted? "

"He'd spend alone time with each of us and do something we like to do."

"What does everyone like to do?" Molly asked. She had no idea this job would require so much effort.

"You have to spend time with everyone and find out. It's really not that bad. I know you hate us but- "

"I don't hate you-"

"Then why is this the first time we've ever spoken for more than two minutes?" Lily asked sadly. Molly couldn't be sure, because she didn't know the little girl that well, but it sounded like she actually cared that Molly never spent time with her.

"We have nothing to talk about Lily. I'm 16, you're like 6."

"I'm 10."

"Right." Molly actually felt kind of bad. She should know more about her cousins than just their names and birthdays. She'd known all of them since they were born and couldn't tell you the first thing about any of them. The bits and pieces she did know were through Lucy's over exaggerated stories that she tuned out most of the time. It probably wouldn't hurt to spend a little time with them. "Uggggggh, alright. What do you like?"

"The color pink, the beach, Gatsby-"

"What's Gatsby?"

"My puppy; the one Ted gave me last year for Christmas. Do you like animals?"

"No. Do you like make-up?"

"I'm not allowed to wear any until I'm 13."

"My parents were the same way. Don't worry, at Hogwarts you can do whatever you want. I'll even do it for you some time."

"Really? Thanks! What I really love is nail polish. I'm allowed to wear that, but I don't have any."

"Lily, Lily, Lily. I keep my manicure kit in my purse at all times, and you're in luck because I'm doing free manicures today."

Molly didn't get to see the happiness rise in Lily's eyes because her sister came running in the room waving a book in the air like the maniac that she was.

"Lily! I'm playing keep away with Rose's book. Here!" Lucy screamed as she hurled the book at Lily.

"Lucy, get back here! That book doesn't belong to you!. Molly, make her give it back!"

"Yeah right, like Molly is going to _make_ me do anything!"

"Hey! I'm right here you know. Why don't both of you sit down with me and Lily; I'm doing manicures. We can have…girl talk." Molly wasn't sure how girl talk with three 10 years olds would go, but it was bound to produce a good story to tell later.

"Should we invite Dom?" Lily asked, causing the four of them to laugh at the idea.

"Nah." Molly responded. "It will take less time to do three manicures than to explain nail polish to that girl." Like she said, it didn't take long at all before each girls nails were painted. They had talked about a lot of different things, and actually were getting along. She found out that Lily had quit ballet to play piano instead and that Lucy had starred in the play at their muggle school. Rose couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts next term and she also had a crush on Teddy.

Molly realized that even though they were younger, they weren't _that_ different from her. Rose was pretty mature for her age, Lucy had great taste, and Lily was really sarcastic and funny. It was like they had little pieces of her in them, which was pretty cool.

"Well ladies, this was fun. Don't move around too much while your polish dries; I'll be back." Molly still wasn't completely sold on hanging out with all the kids, but if she'd talked to three she couldn't just leave the other 6 hanging. She walked outside where she found Dom, Fred, James, Louis and Hugo huddled together. They were all listening intently to James, who was clearly still the leader of the group. Molly remembered when she and Roxy still hadn't gone to Hogwarts and she was the "leader". The younger kids were _really_ young, and they used to drive her nuts.

She had prayed for the days when she wouldn't be considered a little kid anymore, and she would be at Hogwarts with Teddy and Vic. She spent so much time complaining about them all, that hadn't formed any kind of relationship and when she got to Hogwarts the dynamics between them had only broadened. They didn't really want her around and she wasn't that fond of them. Teddy was still the one they wanted to play with and Vic was still the one they went to if they got hurt; Molly had always just been there.

"Hey, guys! What are you doing?" she said, causing five heads to snap up in her direction. "Any cool plans or pranks? I know you guys aren't just chatting about the weather."

"Actually we were just minding our business," Dom answered calmly, "And you care why?"

"You're my baby cousins, is it so crazy to want to hang out with you?"

"Yes." They all answered together.

"Well, I do."

"Yeah, whatever." James replied. "Come on guys, let's go back inside. Fred, did you bring those new products from the joke shop?"

"Yeah. Seeya Mo." He said as the three pre-teens walked away. She remembered when she was that age and didn't want to be bothered with anyone. It would probably take more than a day to win them over.

"Don't mind them; they don't really talk to anyone but each other anymore. The rest of us aren't cool enough for them now." Louis said off-handedly.

"I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, how are my two favorite 10 year old boys doing?"

"How many 10 year old boys do you know?" Hugo asked.

"Two. That's why you're my favorite. So tell me what's going on with you guys."

"You know, you don't have to do this; Lucy told us your dad made you babysit."

"Yeah, then Lily called us insensitive prats when we said we didn't care." Louis chimed. "I don't really know what she meant but I never do. I'm hungry; can you cook?"

"Do you always talk this much? I thought Lily was the one with the gift of gab."

"They both talk too much, Lily's just louder." Albus answered as he came walking from the woods.

"Al! What on earth were you doing out there?"

"Reading, why?"

"I haven't seen you all day. Are you alright?"

"Great, actually. I just wanted some quiet time."

"Quiet time? That's got to be a first in this family."

"Everyone's not as crazy you think. Don't get me wrong, we get loud and crazy, but we can be chill too."

"Be chill?"

"Teddy said it in a letter once; I don't really know what it means. Anyway, when we found out you'd be babysitting, James decided it'd be funny if everyone acted extra crazy and mean and drove you crazy. Honestly, I'm surprised you lasted three days."

Hmm, so the little buggers were trying to make her quit? Well it wasn't going to happen. She was going to use this week to get closer to her family. She should be the coolest older cousin anyway. She had a great sense of style and humor _and _she didn't really care about the rules. Plus she was the only one in a successful relationship and gave pretty good advice. Molly could totally do the role model thing. Piece of cake.

"Well, there's no getting rid of me now. Come on boys, I'll make you guys a snack before the parentals get here."

Molly was truly surprised hadn't had to call any parents, break up any fights, or deal with any cuts or bruises or anything. They had actually had a good time. Just as she was about to get everyone something to drink, she heard the sound of flames coming from the floo.

"Hello kiddies." Uncle George said in his usual cheery voice. "Molly, good to see the house still standing."

"Har har. Is it 4 already?" she asked. The time had gone by so fast, that she hadn't even stopped to look at a clock.

"4 o clock on the dot." Her Uncle Harry answered. "I'm here to pick mine up. They were behaved, yeah?"

"Of course daddy, I'm always behaved. Can Molly please be my babysitter for ever and ever? She's so fun!" Lily squealed.

"That's fine by me, what do you say Mo?"

"All summer?" she asked skeptically. That was going to be two months of these kids, but it's not like she had anything better to do. "Sure, as long as you convince my dad to get me a cellphone. He won't be able to say no if hears that Lily has one."

"Lily? She doesn't have a cellphone."

"Yes she does, she said she'd call my dad if I didn't play with her. I saw it." She said as she looked at the 9-year-old suspiciously.

"I never said the phone actually worked." She said with a smirk.


	27. We Are Golden

**As promised, here's another chapter! Am I almost forgiven for making you wait so long? I surely hope so!  
><strong>

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><p>"Who gives a damn about the family you come from?<p>

No giving up when you're young and you want some  
>We are not who you think we are<br>We are golden"

-Mika

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><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_Dad! Can I ask you something? Why do you and mum hate me?"_

"_Because we don't. Al, you know your mother and I love you very much; where's this coming from?"_

"_Ok, let's see. James Sirius Potter; named after your father, who was an awesome Quidditch player and fought in the War, and Sirius Black, who was your father's best friend that fought with Dumbledore till the end. Lily Luna Potter; named after your mother, one of the prettiest and smartest witches ever, and Aunt Luna, who is like one of the coolest people to ever roam the earth. Then you have me. Albus Severus Potter; named after Albus freaking Dumbledore, who is arguably the most brilliant wizard of all time and Severus Snape, who treated you like a mouse rat in a science experiment. I mean, one name is impossible to live up to and the other is just plain weird. Were you all trying to set me up for public humiliation?"_

"_Al, you were named after two of the-_

"_Bravest wizards you've ever known. Yeah yeah, I've heard it loads of times, it still doesn't make it any better."_

"_I wish I could tell you more, but it's just not the right time."_

"_Whatever." Nobody ever told him anything.  
><em>

* * *

><p>It was the day before they were set to start at Hogwarts and instead of packing like normal people, they were having some kind of family pow wow at The Burrow. Everyone in the family was there- minus Lily, Lucy, Hugo, and Louis- and they were all sitting opposite from Rose and Al, who sat nervously on the couch. Obviously something was about to go down, and before his dad stood up, Al went through a mental list of all the things they could possibly be in trouble for.<p>

"Alright everyone, settle down. First of all I just want to say good luck to Al and Rosie as they start their journey at Hogwarts. We know that the two of you will make us proud. Now, I'm sure you both have realized the way other people in the wizarding world treat our family when we are out and about in London. You all begged and begged to know what's going on, and we feel that you are now old enough to hear our stories." His dad said seriously. Al snuck a look at Rose who just shrugged. "Wow, this is the 6th time I've done this and I still never know how to start-"

"Al, Rosie, your parents, along with our aunts and uncles and their friends, saved the wizarding world a few years back. Harry Potter's a legend, you guys are pretty important. The end." James interrupted. Everyone shot him glares and their mum even hit him, which she rarely ever does. "What? I just saved you loads of time."

"But still James, it wasn't your place to just blurt it out!" Vic said as she hit him twice as hard. His family sure was one for dramatics.

"Wait, that's what this is all about? You guys saving the wizarding world?" Al asked. No one said anything, but they all either nodded or looked away.

"Oh." Rose responded, "We already know."

"Know what?" her mum asked.

"Everything. The trolls, the teacher with Voldemort on his head, the Triwizard tournament, Dumbledore's Army. Everything." She replied coolly.

"But how?" Hermione asked, "We hid all the books. I hid them myself, there's no way two 11 years olds could have found them."

"They don't hide them at the bookstore. One day we were with Uncle George and he said Rose and I could go to the bookstore. When we got in there we saw about a billion books about you guys. We would have said something sooner, but we figured there had to be a reason you weren't telling us. What was that reason?" Al asked his mum.

"To protect you guys. We wanted to make sure you were at an old enough age that you would be able to handle the news."

"Oh. Well I guess that age is about 8, because that's how old Lily was when she overheard us talking about it. And of course she told everyone else so I guess everybody knows." He answered.

"Well then, do you have any questions?" Bill asked. Al knew Rose had a question, she was always wondering something.

"I do. Are we done? I have to finishing packing." Everyone was looking at the two of them like they were crazy, and it took a while for Bill to answer her question.

"Right. So nothing you want to know or talk about?"

"Not really." They responded together. They _had _to stop this freaky twin thing they did all the time. It was getting out of control.

"Well the family has done some really cool things and if you ever want to talk about it with any of us you can." Vic offered.

"Sure, I guess. But we're not the only people whose parents have done great things. Alexis Gardner's mum, from school, she's a surgeon. That's like a really really important muggle doctor and they cut people open and fix them…with their hands!" Rose said in her know-it-all tone. He had to agree though, the surgery stuff sounded really cool.

"Yeah, she came for parent's day last week and showed us pictures, Now_ her_ mum is cool." This statement makes everyone laugh for some reason, even though Al didn't recall saying anything funny.

"You're pretty cool too Uncle Harry, but Mrs. Gardner is like the coolest person ever, you have to meet her!"

"Way to knock the old man down a few pegs Books." James joked.

"Great. So I guess we don't have to tell you to be on your best behavior when you're at school. There are some pretty high standards for you guys to live up to, but we're confident that the two of you will be setting standards of your own in no time." His dad said as he patted him on the back.

"Does this mean this is the last time we have to do this?" Molly asked, "It gets old fast."

"Yeah, this is my fourth one of these." Teddy added. "Well family, I've got to be off. See you all tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Al asked, "You're going to see us off at the train station?" Al could admit that he was nervous about going to Hogwarts, but having Teddy there would make him feel better.

"Of course! What kind of brother would I be if I missed your first day? Bye, everyone!"

The whole family dispersed so that there were only a few kids left in the sitting room. Al figured this was the perfect time to ask a few questions and get some serious, non-filtered answers.

"So, what's it really like at Hogwarts? I mean, with everyone knowing about our family and stuff?" he asked.

"It's really not so bad Al." Vic answered. "At first, people are going to think it's the coolest thing ever and ask you a million questions, but once they get to know you your family history won't even matter to them anymore. Just know that your true friends will be the ones that don't treat you any differently."

"But, will there be people that don't like us?"

"There's always a possibility that someone won't get along with you, but you never know. If you're yourself all the time, there will be no reason for anyone to not like you. The less you worry about that, the better off you'll be. 9 times out of 10 your classmates will already know you from some history book or newspaper; they'll think what they want to think of you regardless of who you really are."

Al looked at Rose and could tell that they were feeling the same way about this. He had never been in a situation where people already knew who he was. He tended to go new places and just keep to himself to avoid having to meet new people. Maybe that wouldn't have to be the case at Hogwarts; this was a fresh start. He could finally relax and have fun and actually make friends. He only had to be invisible if he wanted. Suddenly, leaving for Hogwarts didn't seem scary at all.

Al couldn't wait.


	28. Looking For Someone

**If I wasn't forgiven by now, this chapter should do the trick! I know it's one a lot of you have been waiting for...  
><strong>

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><p>"I've been looking for someone but I don't know his name.<p>

All the faces before me, they all look the same.  
>But there's got to be one face and one pair of eyes<br>that will light me on fire when they're looking into mine."

-Sarah Slean

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><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_Dad, can you help me with something?" Rose asked her dad hopefully as she sat on the couch in his study. He stopped working on whatever he was doing and came and sat next to her._

"_I can definitely try, btu I don't know how much an old geezer like me can help such a smart little girl like you."_

"_What do aurors do when someone gets lost?" she asked._

"_Well, first we'd need to find out where they were last seen and whom with, then put out a missing persons alert and start searching for clues to help us find them. There's some other steps in between, but they can change depending on the situation."_

"_How soon before you start looking for them?"_

"_As soon as possible. These are hypothetical questions right?"_

"_No; we need to put out a missing persons alert for my friend Shane. He's missing!" she screamed frantically. She had wasted so much time, she should have come to her dad a long time ago and now she may never save him from that horrible man._

"_Wait, slow down. Is this a child you're talking about?" he asked as he rushed back to his desk. Rose was glad to see that he was just as worried as she was._

"_Yes, he's my age. Maybe a little older."_

"_What's his name?"_

"_Shane."_

"_Yes dear, what's his last name?" That was a good question; she had no clue._

"_I don't know, he never told me."_

"_Alright, when was the last time you saw him?"_

"_Last summer at the playground near Grandma Jean's house."_

"_Last summer? Is he even a wizard?"_

"_No. Maybe. I don't know." She said defeated, this clearly wasn't going to end well. "We used to read and play at the park then one day his grandfather- a really scary guy -came to take him back home."_

"_So he's at home?" her dad asked._

"_Yes, but he doesn't want to be there-"_

"_Listen Rosie, you can't have aurors searching for someone you last saw at the park a year ago, that may or may not be a wizard, who's at home with his grandfather. He's not missing honey."_

"_But dad-"_

"_Trust me Rose, I wish I could help you find your friend, but there's not much I can do here. Do you feel like you and your friend is truly meant to be a part of your life?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Then he'll come back; don't worry."  
><em>

* * *

><p>Rose didn't see this 'Scorpius Malfoy' boy that her father was warning her about but she did think she saw a familiar face. She wasn't going to get her hopes up though. If you've never waited or looked for a person before, you should know that it does crazy things to your mind. First you do all that you can to track them down with whatever information you have- which in Rose's case wasn't much- until you're sure that there's nothing more you can do. After that doesn't work you hope and pray every day to find or see them just for one second. That last stage makes you kind of feel like a crazy person or stalker, so you tell yourself that you don't really care hoping for some kind of reverse psychology mojo jojo. Rose had been searching for Shane forever and had just gotten out of the 'I feel like a stalker' phase, so the fact that she possibly saw him at Platform 9 ¾ was both exciting and unbelievable.<p>

"C'mon Books, get moving! You can hang on to Uncle Ron forever" she heard James say before hitting her on the head and running to the train. "Bye Aunt Jean, Uncle Bilius!"

"I swear I'll kill Ginny for telling her demon seed my middle name." her dad responded through his teeth while waving to her cousin.

"For Pete's sake Ronald, he's just a child." Her mom scolded

"Pete? Who the bloody hell is Pete?" he said balling up his fists. Rose would hate for her last memory with her mum and dad before leaving to be a fight, so she figured this would be a good time to intervene.

"It's just an expression Daddy, there isn't really a Pete." She said sweetly.

"Oh honey, your father knows these things he just doesn't think before he speaks."

"Oh yeah? Maybe I should have _thought_ a second longer before getting married."

"As if it was all up to you; honest to goodness I can't stand you sometimes." This was not good. Not only were her parents arguing; everyone was watching them as bodies got closer, faces got redder, and hair got bushier. Rose could have slipped away without either of them noticing but luckily she caught her Uncle Harry's eye and he came over to play peace maker as always.

"Mione, Ron, the trains about to leave. Don't you want to say good bye one more time?" he said louder than normal.

"Rosie Doll, I'm so sorry." Her mom said. She wanted to stay mad at her but she could tell her mom was embarrassed about the little fight.

"It's ok mum, but I have to go I'm the only one not on the train."

"Of course dear, have a good first day. Make sure you write us, I'm going to miss having my girl around all the time." She said before kissing her on the head. Her dad picked her up in a big bear hug and started placing kisses all over her face.

"Daddy, stop it! You're so embarrassing."

"I can't help it; I'll miss you like crazy. Have a good time; you'll do great. Don't forget to beat Scorpius Malfoy in absolutely everything-"

"Dad!"

The train blew for what seemed like the fiftieth time and she blew a kiss to her parents, aunts and uncles and literally bolted for the train. Her parents may miss her, but she surely couldn't wait to have a break from them. She walked her way down the hallway of the train looking for nothing in particular, just a place to sit. People were staring at her as she walked by, and whether it was because of who she was or her parents' public argument, it was making her feel weird. She had half a mind to ask them what they were staring at, but she knew she wouldn't. That was something James or Roxy would have done; not sweet, quiet Rose. When she got to the exact middle of the train she spotted her family cramped into one of the compartments talking and laughing as if they had not a care in the world. She slid the door open quietly and waved when a few of her cousins' heads turned her way.

She stepped over Al and Fred who were lounging on the floor, and squeezed into a spot nearest to the window next to Dom. The train pulled off and she chanced a look back at her parents; but instead of seeing them argue like she'd been expecting, her dad was holding her mum in a soothing way while she cried into his chest. _They are so weird. _Rose turned back around and noticed that her cousins were staring at her silently like everyone else had been.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" she asked no one in particular.

"Are you ok?" Fred asked warily.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" she asked.

"Well, we saw your parents out there." Molly answered.

"So did everyone else on the platform. It was just a little fight." She said, hoping they'd just leave it alone. She really didn't want to spend her first ride to Hogwarts talking about her parents and their problems.

"If you ever want to talk about it-"

"You'll be the first to know; can we please just drop it? I thought family therapy was on Wednesdays." she joked, remembering the time they had tried going to therapy as a family. The therapist lasted about 15 minutes before running off.

"Look at that, Books made a funny." James teased. "Just for that, you can consider the subject dropped." Rose let out a sigh and tried to think of anything else but her parents. After all, she was finally on the train to Hogwarts. She looked around the compartment at her family members talking and having fun on the train together like she'd always imagined. The excitement finally caught up with her and she grinned widely before hitting Al on the back of the head.

"Albie, we're going to Hogwarts!" she screamed out of nowhere.

"Yeah, we are. It's crazy isn't it?"

"Actually I'm dying at how normal it is, with the two of you being 11 and all." Dom joked. She was about to try and comeback at Dom but she saw a flash of blonde hair go by their compartment and had that crazy longing feeling in her stomach that she'd been trying to ignore for the past few months. She wanted so badly for that to be him, but had been disappointed millions of times before. Something about how blonde his hair was made her think that it could really be him this time. She stood up abruptly and pushed her way through her cousins to get out of the compartment, breaking into a run.

"Shane!" she called as loudly as possible, earning her stares from the people that heard her. "Shane!"

"Rose, stop running!" Vic warned in her Head Girl voice, "and no shouting in the Halls!"

She respected the rules just as much, if not more than Victoire, but this was an emergency. "Shane!" she called one last time. He turned around and she could have done a backflip when she saw that he was actually there, with her, on the way to Hogwarts.

"Rosalina! What are you doing here?" he asked as he hugged her tightly.

"I go to Hogwarts, or at least I'm starting at Hogwarts today." She replied.

"Rosie!" she heard someone call from behind her, no doubt it was one of her cousins. "Why'd you take off like that?"

"Sorry James, but I thought I saw an old friend, well I did see an old friend, and I had to see if it was him, and it was." She rambled

"Well, did you find him?" he asked. Rose thought that was kind of a stupid question considering Shane was standing right in front of her.

"Yeah, he's right here you git."

"This is your friend? But, Weasley's don't associate with Malfoy's" he said snobbishly. _Malfoy?_

"It's a good thing Rosalina isn't a Weasley or I guess I'd be in big trouble." Shane said jokingly.

"Who the heck is Rosalina? Is Rose short for that?" James asked.

"What? No!" she said dismissing James' stupid comments. Something wasn't adding up though. "Shane, why would you be in trouble if I was a Weasley?"

"Who's Shane?" James asked.

"He is!" she yelled at her friend who was blushing, probably due to the fact that James was acting like he couldn't see him.

"Wait. You thought-" James started before laughing. "Oh this is too good, and I thought you were supposed to be the smart one." He walked down the hall of the train and Rose could hear his laughter all of the way back to their family's compartment

"You're a Weasley? As in red hair, big family, famous parents Weasley?" he asked.

"Are you a Malfoy? As in…well, as in _Malfoy_?" she asked back.

"Uh, yeah."

"Oh. Well, me too. I mean yes I'm a Weasley not a Malfoy. Why didn't you say so before?"

"Same reason as you I suppose. Is your real name Rosalina?"

"No, it's just Rose. And I take it your real name isn't Shane." She said raising an eyebrow.

"Well no. I'm Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy." he said.

"_You're_ Scorpius Malfoy? I don't mean to sound pretentious, but how could you not have known who I was? Haven't you seen me or my family in The Daily Prophet?" she asked, realizing she still sounded snotty and pompous.

"My Grandfather doesn't allow them in the house; he says everything and everyone in it is rubbish. How have you never heard about me?" he asked.

"I have. Well I've read all about our families' pasts, but no textbooks or biographies give any information on your parents after the war. I had no idea your father was married or had any kids."

"Yeah, I'm sure they wouldn't put emphasis on the former Death Eaters in all the textbooks. I've read a bit about your parents though, they were pretty cool."

"Yeah." Was all she could say in response. Well this was interesting to say the least. Her first friend- and was the son of the guy that caused her family a lot of pain during their years at Hogwarts. His father and grandfather had been death eaters and their families had fought on different sides of the war; and yet, when she looked at him she didn't see any of that. He was different.

"Look Rose, I get it if you don't want to be friends anymore after…well considering who my family is." She thought about his statement silently. She knew that her becoming friends with him would go against everything that was normal, but if she turned him away because of who his father used to be, then her parents and family had put their lives on the line for nothing. "We can just pretend we never met if that's what you want." He said sadly as he turned away. She could tell people usually treated him poorly because of his parents' past, and that's probably why he'd pretended to be someone else in the first place.

"Scorpius, wait!" she said as she caught his shoulder. "I don't care about what our fathers believe or who people think you are. I want us to be friends. I mean of course, if you want to. I know your family isn't too fond of mine either." She admitted.

"Yeah." He said blushing. "But I don't care. So friends?" he asked, holding out his hand for a handshake. She smiled bigger than she ever had before and instead she wrapped her arms around him tightly. He returned the hug, ignoring the whistling sounds coming from being around them.

"Let's go sit down; I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, my family can be a little…well they may not be as understanding as me, ok?"

"I think I can handle it." He responded with a cocky smirk.

"Yeah well you already met James, he's _really _overprotective and I know he laughed earlier but he probably didn't think we'd stay friends. I'm almost positive he won't laugh when we go back in there. And Fred's sweet as ever but he's big for a 12 year old and if he thinks I'm making a bad decision he may snap. Then there's Roxy and she's really cool but she can be feisty, that's where Fred gets it, and Molly, well she probably won't care, but Vic is like the mother of the group and she'll probably flip and Dominique won't care either but she loves to mess with people so she'll try her hardest to drive you crazy and then Al, oh god, Al-"

"Rosalina-"

"It's Rose" she interrupted.

"Right. Rose, I'll be fine, let's go!" he said before pulling her by the arm and leading the way to her family's apartment. She couldn't help but laugh at how confident Scorpios was, and it reminded her how confident she felt when they met two summers ago. The two of them were all smiles as they ran down the narrow halls of the train, but they sobered up quickly when she saw the looks on her family's faces. James looked positively lethal and somehow that fueled her next move. She grabbed Scorpius by the arm and led him inside of the compartment, while ignoring her family members.

"Scorpius, you can just sit on the floor by me." She said trying to sound as casual as possible. From the feeling in the atmosphere it wouldn't be quiet long, so she wanted to dilute the situation before the dogs attacked. "Everybody this is my friend Scorpius Malfoy, Scorpius this is Molly and her boyfriend Chase, Roxanne, Dominique, Fred, Albus, and you already met James. Remember Scorpius, Jamie?"

"Albus Potter." Her favorite cousin said before shaking hands with Scorpius. "So are you the mystery friend Rose was searching for all last year? I thought she was lying."

"Oh my god, you actually searched for him? That's so sweet, Chase would you do that for me?" Molly blabbed.

"So _that's_ what you were doing, asking my mom about health records." Dom teased. "How about you lover boy, were you looking for Rosie dearest?"

"You don't have to answer them-"

"Yes he does!"

"Fred!" Roxy yelled unbelievably, usually he was the sensible one.

"What? I'm just saying."

"I did." Scorpius yelled, silencing the group. "Search for her, I mean. Rose was the first real friend I ever had, and I wanted to at least say goodbye before I came to Hogwarts. I had pretty much given up because I honestly felt like a stalker, then when I saw her on the train today I almost died from shock. I had no idea she was a Weasley and I really don't care, I just hope you guys can give me a chance to show you the person I am."

"If Rose trusts you, so do I." Al commented with a shrug.

"Me too." Roxy said as she walked to the door. "I'll see you guys in the Great Hall. It was nice to meet you Scorpius."

"What kind of name is Scorpius? Are you parents missing a normalcy gene?" Dom asked.

"What kind of name is Dominique?" he replied coolly, "Are your parents missing an originality gene?"

"Well played." She congratulated. "He's fine with me, but I don't think I can call you Scorpius. What's your middle name?"

"Hyperion."

"Scorpius it is, then." She replied, earning a laugh from the others. As Dominique left the compartment followed by Fred, a hostile feeling came over the ones left in their seats. Even though Rose hadn't intended on getting an actual approval from each of her family members, that seemed to be what was happening; and the only person that hadn't spoken was James. As much as she hated to admit it, his opinion probably mattered the most. For the past few years James had always been the "leader" while the older kids were away, and although they fought with each other a lot she still respected him. And seeing as how he practically bullied Chase, who is 5 years older than him; you could say he can be a little intimidating. She watched as he thought out his response in his head and couldn't help but get nervous.

"Well I hate him a hell of a lot less than I hate kissy face Chase over here; and that may not sound promising Scorpius, but I _really _hate this guy. So we're cool. _But_ if you hurt Rose- and I mean if I even see her look like she may want to think about crying- I will rip out your tear glands with my bare hands and watch you struggle to cry from the pain. Capiche?"

"Capiche. But why do you hate Chase so much?" Scorpius asked, causing James to laugh.

"There isn't enough time in the world to explain, but if you stick around us I'm sure you'll find out."

"Merlin James, could you be any more of a git?" Molly said while smacking him on the head. She walked out of the compartment dramatically and Chase followed quickly before James could set off any bombs or something.

"Well that was fun. Welcome to the world of the Weasley's Scorpius. Keep an eye on Books for me." He called as he left the compartment.

"Who's Books?" Scorpius asked with a small smile.

"It's a stupid nickname James gave me for reading so much. No one else calls me that, it's just Rose or Rosie." She answered. "Do you have any nicknames?"

"Other than Shane? No, like I said you're the longest friend I've ever had, and we only knew each other for a week. So I didn't really have time to get cool nicknames."

"What about S, or SM?" Al suggested.

"That's not natural enough. What about Scorp, or just Scor?" Rose offered happily. "That's it, I don't care if you like it I'm calling you Scor."

"Well I'm not in love with it, but I'll take a weird nickname over being friendless any day. We are friends right?"

"Do you play Quidditch?" Al asked.

"Yes."

"Are you good?"

"I'd say so."

"How about Muggle video games?"

"I'm mildly addicted."

"Well Scor, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship." Al concluded, as he pulled out one of his portable video games. As she watched the boys play and laugh, she felt a weird feeling of completion. This was going to be a good year; she could tell.


	29. Vulnerable

"_Tell me, tell me  
><em>_ What makes you think that you are invincible?  
><em>_ I can see it in your eyes that you're not sure  
><em>_ Please don't tell me that I'm the only one that's vulnerable  
><em>_ Impossible"_

_-Secondhand Serenade  
><em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<br>**_

* * *

><p>"<em>Victoire, it's time to wake-up bug." Vic heard her dad say. It was way too early to be getting up, and her dad hadn't come within two feet of her room since got her period during her third year.<em>

"_Dad, I'm sleep."_

"_An envelope from Hogwarts just came by owl. It's on the kitchen table and I figured you might want to see what it says, but I'll come back later; you're sleep." She practically bounced off of her bed and ran down the stairs, only to be greeted by her entire family._

"_Surprise!" they all screamed loudly. She was pretty sure it wasn't her birthday, nor had she won any awards, so this was definitely a surprise._

"_Thank you?" She replied unsurely as she nervously tore through the package. She opened the letter and read aloud the words she'd dreamed about since she was 8 years old. "Dear Miss Weasley, we are pleased to inform you that you have been chosen to represent Hogwarts as Head Girl for the 2019-2020 school year. Enclosed you will find more information pertaining to your duties and responsibilities. Congratulations on your achievements and good luck in your final year. Oh my god, I'm Head Girl!"_

_She received many hugs and kisses and congratulations from everybody except from the one person she'd wanted to see the most. Teddy had been standing at a comfortable distance the entire time and was avoiding her like he had been since they decided they would tell the family about their relationship. This was not the time for him to be ignoring her though; this was the best day of her life._

_It wasn't like she hadn't expected to get the Heads position, but it wasn't different actually seeing the badge and reading the letters; just like Teddy told her it would. She couldn't be more excited and the first person she wanted to tell was Teddy, who was going to talk to her whether he liked it or not. She was just about to make her way towards him when he stood up and whistled to get the attention of the family._

"_Hello everyone, I know this day is for Vic but I have some news as well. Starting this term, I'll be teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts class at Hogwarts." Vic clapped along with the rest of the family and smiled as she realized that they would be together. However, the good feeling went away when she really processed the circumstances under which they would be together. He would be a teacher and she would be a student. His student. Ew. _

_Of all the things that had already gone wrong with their 'not really' relationship this was by far the worst._

"_Teddy, can I speak to you outside for a moment?" she asked. She was relieved when he just walked toward the door instead of pretending she didn't exist in front of the entire family. "What's this about Vic?"_

"_I guess__ it's about me. Is that why you've been avoiding me? Because you're a teacher now?"_

"_I haven't been avoiding you; I was just trying to do what's best for you."_

"_What's best for me? I don't think ignoring me is best for me or our relationship. I thought we were going to tell the family and then you practically disappear from the earth."_

"_That's the thing Tori; we can't tell anyone now. Not until you graduate." He said softly. She wasn't sure if she had heard him clearly and had absolutely no words for him. "It's not me, truly. McGonagall has a policy that teachers and students can't engage in relationships. You could be expelled if anyone finds out and I can't let that happen."_

"_What does that mean for us then? Because from where I'm standing it looks like we have to break-up. Which shouldn't be that hard because we haven't had a chance to be together properly anyway." She deduced. She wanted to curse everyone that had previously told her they were meant to be together because it was becoming all too clear that they weren't meant to be anything but apart._

"_This means nothing for us Vic. I don't love you any less and that's not going to change, but we-"_

"_I get it. I get it. We have to wait; story of our lives."_

"_That's my girl. Everything's going to work out. I promise."_

_Vic was starting to get the feeling that when it came to the two of them; nothing was going to just 'work out.'  
><em>

* * *

The first week of school had been _rough._ She'd been loaded with homework, endured painful training sessions with the Head Boy, and had to deal with not only her cousins, but the entire maniac student body. It was exhausting. What she really wanted was to go talk to Teddy about it, but clearly that was no longer an option. It had been a total of 7 days and not only were they not talking, but he was actually upset with her.

In all honesty, she should be mad at him! He knew very well that he was the youngest teacher to ever set foot in Hogwarts and that the girls would be all over him. He didn't have to flail about in class making all the girls squeal like underfed pigs. It was disgusting. She had given at least 15 detentions for inappropriate comments she'd heard from her classmates and even some of the younger girls as well. And being Teddy, he pretended that he had no idea of the effect he had on women.

To make matters worse, he was being a complete prat to her. He never called on her when she raised her hand, always told her to be quiet even if she just breathed too loudly, and barely made eye contact with her if it wasn't absolutely necessary. It was painfully obvious that they had some sort of connection and it didn't help that everyone in her class knew that they used to hang out anyway. He was acting like such a child.

That's it. She knew they weren't supposed to be talking outside of classes and meetings, but he was being absurd.

"Hey Vic, where are you going?" Lex asked.

"Just going to have a little chat with Hogwarts' newest rock star."She said icily. It wasn't like they couldn't talk at all; she'd just pretend she had a question about homework. "Have you seen him?"

"No, but I heard Agatha Nott saying she was going to speak with him about-"

Oh hell no. Agatha Not was the biggest slut she'd ever laid eyes on. Vic would bet her right foot that the little slime ball was in there drooling over her boyfriend right at this very moment. She made it to his office in 5 minutes flat and didn't even bother knocking on the door. When she walked in she saw Agatha sitting at a desk with her head in her hands and Teddy's arm wrapped comfortingly around her.

"Excuse me Professor Lupin, may I have a word?" she asked, causing both of them to jump up.

"Not right now Miss Weasley, I'm with student-"

"It's quite alright Professor, I wouldn't want to upset the Head Girl any further. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Very well Miss Nott." The bony girl stood up and shot Vic a nasty look before walking out of the door. Could she be anymore pathetic?

"What the hell was that Teddy?"

"Why don't you tell me? It would seem she isn't the only one of your classmates you've upset."

"Me? What the hell did I do?"

"Did you or did you not give Agatha a month's worth of detention?" _Oh, that._

"She was speaking inappropriately about a professor. It's not like she's completely innocent."

"And is that the reason for the other 14 detention's you've given out? Because if you ask me it's all a bit too coincidental. We're supposed to be platonic towards each other, is this your idea of control? Anyone who doesn't know there's something going on between us has to be blind. What are you thinking?" he asked.

"I'm thinking that I don't care who it is or what the circumstances, I'm not just going to sit by and watch or listen to a bunch of hormonal teenager groveling over my boyfriend." She said as she reached out to him. He jerked his arm away quickly and the tips of his hair began turning red.

"Stop it! Do you not understand the gravity of what's at stake here? My job, your head's position, your education, our future's. This is bigger than our relationship and I thought that you were mature enough to understand that."

"I'm not mature? You're the one that can't even treat me the same as the other students when we're in the same room with each other. I get that we can't be together but I didn't think that meant we had to hate each other."

"I don't hate you! That's the problem; there's no grey area with the two of us. I either love you or just can't-"

"Would you rather be with someone else then? Why don't we just say to hell with all of this and you can frolic with Jo or Agatha or McGonagall or whoever the hell you want! Clearly I'm not good enough for you anymore."

"Wow. Jealous Vic I can handle, but I don't know if insecure Vic is a side of you I'd like to get to know."

"Congratulations. You now know that Victoire Weasley isn't perfect. Happy?" she asked. This had to be the worst day of her life. She felt completely vulnerable and stupid and apparently insecure. No one had _ever _called her that. "I'm sorry. I just…I'll go. Sorry to bother you."

She was so embarrassed and annoyed that she almost tripped on her way to the door. "Vic!"

"Yeah, Ted?"

"I love you with all my heart and then some. You know that. You love me too, right?"

"Of course."

"Because of that, we're gonna make it through this. I promise."

_If he says so..._


	30. You're Not Sorry

"Don't want to hurt anymore  
>And you can tell me that you're sorry<br>But I won't believe you baby like I did before  
>You're not sorry no more, no more, no"<p>

-Taylor Swift

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<br>**

* * *

><p><em>Molly couldn't wait for the stupid Quidditch trials to be over with. It usually lasted about six hours when Teddy was Captain, but even that was better than what Chase had put them through. Teddy had only tried people for the spots that weren't filled, and kept the rest of the team as is. Molly could work with that. Now Chase, that she couldn't deal with.<em>

_He wanted to 're-invent' Gryffindor's Quidditch team and make it as close to perfect as he could. That meant starting over completely. He had made it very clear to their house mates that all of the spots were open, and that any and everyone was invited to try-out; as long as they had a passion for the sport. It had to be at least 60 people on the Quidditch pitch and the entire process was going to last an entire weekend. Starting Friday, immediately after the last class of the day, they had a conditioning workshop where Chase had literally kicked some of their asses. They had to have done about 500 crunches and push-ups, and by the end of it most of them were rolling on the floor in pain. Needless to say, about ¼ of the people trying out didn't show up for their 3k run through the grounds at 5 a.m. the next day._

_Saturday was hell for all of them. He broke everyone into groups based on what they were trying out for and had them do specific drills for the position. Molly was really surprised she was hanging in there, but she wasn't going to let her family members outdo her in public. Even Fred, who was the anti-athlete, didn't seem to be struggling. After lunch and another round of drills, they all dragged themselves to the common room. She would have passed out cold right then and there, but she had to listen to Chase go on and on about the team and the trials and how much people improve when you push them. He was going to push her into an early grave if he didn't ease up a bit._

_Today had been the least daunting of all. They all woke up at a more decent hour and checked the list for people who had been chosen for the final try-out. On the pitch she realized that the only people left for Chasers were her, Vic, Dom, and Hollis Yates. It was going to be really fun working with Vic again, and maybe she and Dom could finally find some common ground or something._

"_Molly, pay attention! He's about to announce the roster." Roxy whispered. She didn't know why Rox was so serious about all of this; the team was practically set in stone._

"_Thanks everyone for trying out for the team," Chase said, "I just want to say to those of you that didn't make it, congratulations for getting this far. It was a brutal few days and the fact that you're standing here means you're a real quality player, but there's only room for the best this year. That being said, the roster is as follows. Our new Seeker, Albus Potter." The little boy grinned widely and looked happily up at James, who patted him on the back proudly._

"_I'm so sorry Rox, I know you loved playing." Molly said to her cousin soothingly._

"_It's ok," Roxy replied, "Al's way better than me anyway. Plus, he'll get his as soon as Lily gets here."_

"_Returning as Keeper, James Potter." Chase continued, "And the new changes to the team carry over into the way we treat each other. Understand Potter?"_

"_I don't understand anything you say Finnegan, but I'll try if it'll help you sleep at night." James responded. He was such prat-in-training, Molly really didn't get him._

"_Our new Beater and my partner for the year, Damon Foster. Last but not least for our Chasers, we have Victoire Weasley, Dominique Weasley, and lastly… Roxanne Weasley." _

_Did he just say Roxanne?  
><em>

* * *

><p>Molly felt absolutely ridiculous running around in circles trying to get away from her boyfriend, but she was really trying to stress the fact that she did not want to talk to him. She did not care that people were watching, or laughing she just wanted to get away from him. If they were decent people they'd help her out. Couldn't they sense that she was trying to get away from him? Molly figured the fact that she was running would be a dead giveaway.<p>

She leapt over the couch and ran behind the nearest person she could find. It happened to be Albus, who wasn't much taller than she was, but he would do. All she really needed was to get to the girls' stairs so he really couldn't follow her. Chase walked around the couch swiftly and Molly may or may not have pushed Al into his arms. If the task at hand wasn't so dire, she would've taken the time to laugh at the looks on the uncomfortable boys' faces as they tried to push one another away in confusion. This was the best chance she'd get at escape, so she made a bee-line for the stairs with no other thoughts in sight. She only had three more steps to go when she heard someone join her on the stairs followed by the feeling of the ground being knocked out of her and sliding all the way back down the stairs. Her ending place happened to be right at her boyfriend's feet and he wasted no time picking her up and slinging her over his shoulder like some kind of body guard. She couldn't tell where he was taking her because the only things on her mind were firstly, all of the people in the common room enjoying their little show and secondly, getting down. She tried pounding on his back, but his muscles were hurting her hands, forcing her to use her number one weapon; her mouth.

"Chase _Bloody_ Finnegan, you big, fat dummy, put me down this instant or I will scream so loud that a banshee would cover its ears." she screamed viciously. At least she thought she had been vicious, though he was still carrying her and going up the stairs. He opened a door and she felt herself being thrown on a bed while he locked it. She was plum tired from their little high-speed chase, but he hadn't even broken a sweat through all of that. _Freak. _

He cast a silencing charm, and that set everything into motion. "What do you need a silencing charm for? I hope you're not planning on yelling, because I'll just warn you now, I do not respond well to being yelled at." she said while crossing her arms and standing from her place on the bed.

"I think everyone's seen enough of our little show, no need for them to hear us too." he said calmly. She was backing towards the wall to emphasize how much she truly didn't want to be near him, but she tripped over his beaters bat, further upsetting her and remembering why she had been upset with him in the first place. If he thought she was going to be all lovey-dovey with him after being kicked off the Quidditch Team _by _him, he had lost his mind.

"Maybe they should hear. You might need witnesses." she threatened to no avail. He just sighed out of frustration and came towards her.

"Will you please just tell me what is going on? I don't have time to figure you out today, we have Quidditch practice."

"You insensitive git. That's what's going on; you and your stupid Quidditch team."

"The Quidditch team?" he said stupidly.

"Yes, you know that team I was on for the last three years and am not a part of any more."

"You're really upset over Quidditch?" _Wow, maybe he is as dumb as James says. _"You don't even like Quidditch; I figured you might be happy to not have to go through the motions of wanting to be at practices and games." he answered.

"That's not the point; it's the god damned principle."

"Merlin, could you mind your language? And what principle? Roxy's clearly a better Chaser and she wanted it more."

"She was trying out for Seeker!"

"Yes, but she's a brilliant flyer, she has a good arm-"

"Uggh, I don't care about her arms! Don't you get what I'm saying? It's not about Quidditch. I don't care about Quidditch, I care about our relationship!" she said exhausted. He really and truly didn't understand.

"I care about our relationship, but I care about Quidditch-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence with the word 'more', or you can date your fucking broom."

"Too! I care about Quidditch too. Let's be realistic; I want to be a Quidditch player for a living. I can't do that if I don't make sure the team I play for now is at its best. I knew that I could either choose you and lower my chances of being scouted or choose Roxy and better my chances. I figured you'd be happy. Wouldn't you rather spend the practice time getting drunk, partying and wreaking havoc with you little crew?"

"And all you want to do is play and talk about Quidditch when you take a break from telling me what to say and do or criticizing my friends. Why can't I just be good enough for you the way I am? Remember that, when you loved me for who I was?"

"I still love you for who you are Molly; I just don't understand you sometimes. The past three years all you've done is complain about the long hours at practice and how stupid Quidditch is; I thought I was doing you a favor. I honestly didn't think you'd care if I chose someone else."

"I get where you're coming from Chase. Honestly I do, but you didn't just choose anyone else, you chose Roxy. My gorgeous, lovable, doe-eyed cousin. Do you have any idea in that thick, thick head of yours how that's going to look?"

"It'll look like I chose the best player."

"No, like you chose the best Weasley!" she said before slamming his door. He could be so frustrating at times. They had never had a fight before, but she was glad they did. She was absolutely sick and tired of holding her tongue when she was with him. She didn't understand how someone could be so clueless about the person they loved. He didn't get her at all. She knocked on the door of Roxy's room but walked in without hearing a reply. She plopped down on the girl's bed and let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding.

"You okay Mo?" Roxy asked.

"Chase and I just had a fight. A big one."

"Was it about the Quidditch trials? Because I'll give up my spot if it's going to hurt you guys' relationship." Molly let out a long, appreciative sigh. There was a reason god gave people cousins. It was so that there were people genetically programmed to understand you.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so glad that you get it!" she rambled. "Please keep your spot on the team, you're clearly better than me, but Chase doesn't get why I'm upset over this. That idiot thinks I'm just jealous of you, he doesn't see how this is going to hurt our relationship."

"That's because Chase doesn't think like a normal 17 year old boy. Any other bloke his age with raging hormones would have picked their girlfriend, but Chase thinks long term. In his mind picking me made more sense because he wants to be a pro-Quidditch player, which would benefit you in the long run if you guys get married and have kids. He'll know that he can support you in the future, but he doesn't see how that's going to affect you guys right now."

"Well I think like you regular old 15 year old girl. Who cares about children or the future right now? Legally _I'm _still a child."

"Touché. So what are you going to do about it? Aunt Hermione would say the two of you just need to talk it out, but…"

"But talking to Chase is like talking to a brick wall. Get it? The abs are the bricks." She said laughing at her own joke.

"Wow, another stinker like that and you'll replace Vic as the least funny Weasley."

"And if you don't stop honing in on your freakishly good genes, you might take my spot as prettiest Weasley."

"Your self-proclaimed spot." She said with a snort. "But getting back on subject, where's Chase now?"

"In his room I'd guess. Probably crying his eyes out, he's so sensitive. His dad says that if I were ever to break-up with him the Aurors may have to put him on suicide watch." She said with a sad smile. He may be a clueless git, but he was her clueless git and she really did love him. She couldn't even really remember why she had gotten mad over it in the first place, she didn't even like Quidditch.

"But you're not going to break up with him, are you?" Roxy asked with a knowing smile. There were a lot of things that Molly wanted to do to Chase right now, but breaking up wasn't one of them.

"Oh, don't smile at me like that-like you know everything." Molly said as she hit Roxy playfully on the arm.

"I don't know everything, but I do you know you. And you don't care about Quidditch enough to let it ruin your relationship."

"You're right; I just need a while to cool down from the whole thing. Want to have a sleep over?"

"You mean can you sleep in my bed? Sure you big baby, just don't snore." Roxy said as she scooted over, making room for Molly to scoot in.

"I don't snore!" she yelled defensively.

"How would you know that if you're sleep when you do it?" Roxy asked in a smarty pants tone.

"Chase would have told me. Would it be pathetic if I said I miss him?" she asked. Molly was hit with a pillow thrown with a good bit of force. _She really does have a good arm. _"I'll take that as a yes. I really do though."

"You're hopeless."


	31. Mistakes

"I've made my mistakes  
>got nowhere to run<br>The night goes on as I'm fading away  
>I'm sick of this life<br>I just wanna scream  
>How could this happen to me"<p>

-Simple Plan

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_Queen to F7." Linden said with a smirk. "Check and mate." That was the second time in a row she'd won. Linden was the only person that had ever beat James so badly at wizard's chess and it was absolutely frustrating. He never lost; and that was even when he humored his Uncle Ron and played with him._

"_That's ridiculous Love. How are you so good at this?"_

"_I learned it from my dad; he's completely mad, but he can play chess." James noticed that she was playing with the loose threads on her tie, like she always did when she brought up her personal matters. It wasn't like he expected her to gush about her life and feelings (they may not ABSOLUTELY hate each other, but they still fought mercilessly), but he figured he had to get something out of her._

"_Well, your dad knows his stuff. What's his name by the way?"_

"_His name is Mr. Love, husband of Mrs. Love and father of yours truly."_

"_Well obviously, but why don't you ever talk about him? You know loads about my family."_

"_That's because your family is full of war heroes and you and your cousins and siblings take up half the school. It would be hard to miss any of you." She said. James could tell she was just trying to get a rise out of him so he'd change the subject and stop asking about her life._

"_Don't try and change the subject. Friends are supposed to know things about each other."_

"_Friends? James Potter, did you just refer to me as your friend?"_

"_I did not."_

"_Yes, you did. You called me your friend." She said in between a fit of laughter._

"_Whatever, you're hearing things. Best 3 out of 5? I'm done letting you win."_

"_Ugh, you've got to be kidding. Why can't you just take your loss like a man? Or boy in your case." _

"_You know you enjoy spending time with me. We've been playing for three hours; don't tell me you haven't been dying to run to your dorm and spill the "deets" to your little friends." At his words, Linden jumped up and started gathering her things "Uh, I was just kidding-"_

"_No, I'm so late. I've got to go."_

"_Go where? It'll be curfew soon" he asked, feeling something close to worry, even though he was never going to admit that. Ever._

"_Don't worry, I'll be back well before curfew."_

"_Want me to come with you? We could use the cloak."_

"_No, I'll be fine." She said as she ran out of the door. Something was going on with her, and he was sure as hell gonna find out.  
><em>

* * *

><p>It had been a week since Linden had first run off at an odd hour of night and James had finally had enough. He hadn't really noticed before because they rarely hung out, but she was always disappearing and running off and something about it irked him. She would just run off with no explanation and Fred, Dominique, Linden, Carter and even Hollis would just let her go without asking questions or anything.<p>

It wasn't like James cared, not in the least, but he was used to looking after people and had a problem with just letting people roam around on their own; especially girls. Not that Linden wasn't capable of protecting herself, but he felt it was a principle or something to keep an eye on her.

"James, I'm trying to warn you as your best friend, don't do this. Just let Linden be." Fred begged.

"Fred, are you kidding? She's been sneaking off in the middle of the night going Merlin knows where. What if something dangerous is going on?"

"Linden's a smart girl James, she'd never purposely walk into anything dangerous. She's about to leave, by the way." Leah added as she walked.

"You guys are very optimistic. It's adorable. But I have bad feeling about this and I'm not just going to let our friend off on her own."

"_Our _friend?" Fred asked with a smile.

"I said _your_ friend. As in you two."

"Sure. Are you positive you think Linden is in danger? I bet she's perfectly safe. Maybe she's meeting with a secret boyfriend."

"Secret boyfriend?" James asked incredulously. "No, that's not it. Fred, you coming?"

"I wouldn't miss this for the world. Let's go."

James and Fred crept through the halls of the castle at a comfortable distance behind Linden. She didn't even seem to be trying to hide or protect herself, she was just roaming around like she owned the halls. She couldn't _really _be meeting up with a boyfriend could she? That would explain the late nights and all the secrecy. Something about it almost made him feel concerned, but James mentally slapped himself. He could care less if she had a boyfriend. She was bloody welcome to secretly date whomever she wanted to.

James' thoughts were interrupted when Fred stopped walking and pointed to the doorway Linden had just snuck into. James had no clue what part of the castle they were in, and was pretty sure he'd never heard of this room before. The two boys slipped into the room before it could close and were surprised at what they saw. The huge room had black marble floors and was decorated with gaudy Slytherin tapestries and colors. It was cold and uninviting, and James imagined it to be what the Slytherins common room to be like.

"Linden. Linden, is that you?" a male voice whispered.

"Scorpius, it's me. I thought I was going to be late." She answered.

"Nope, just in time; here they are." James was utterly confused. Her secret boyfriend was Scorpius Malfoy? And there were more people coming. He looked at Fred who seemed to be just as confused, but turned back towards Scorpius and Linden when he heard a noise come from the fireplace. It looked like two heads had appeared from the flames and the two kids walked toward them without saying a word. "Hello mother, Aunt Daphne."

"Scorpius dear, it's so good to hear from you. And you as well Linden. You're getting more and more lovely by the minute."

"It's good to see you too Aunt Astoria. Hello mum, how are things at home?"

"It's hard, but we're getting through it. Your sister misses you. We all do."

"I miss you all too. How's dad?"

"He's…better."

"Better? Don't lie to the girl Daphne." The woman named Astoria scoffed, "Theodore Nott is a mad man and he always will be. By the way Scorpius, your father says hello and that he's sorry he hasn't written. "

"It's alright, I know he would…if the circumstances were different."

If James was thought he was confused before, he had no idea what he was feeling now. He had heard enough and by the look on Fred's face he could tell he'd had enough as well. They opened the door as slowly as possible and took off down the hallway once they had made it out safely. The two ran all the way back to the common room, not even caring that they could be seen and heard by every portrait or ghost in the castle.

"What the hell was that?" Fred asked.

"Linden and Scorpius are cousins. And her father is Theodore Nott."

"But where did 'Love' come from? Why would she hide who she really was?" Fred asked more to himself than out loud.

"Why wouldn't she hide who she was? I would."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean 'what do I mean?' Don't you get it? She's not a good person; that's why she doesn't talk about her family, because they're nothing but a bunch of evil, heartless Death Eaters."

"James-"

"No, this insane!" he said, interrupting whatever Fred was about to say. "She's having secret late night meetings in some creepy old ballroom with Scorpius Malfoy and their Death Eater mothers. I can't believe they're planning something right under our noses-"

"James-"

"I've got to write my father; he'll know what to do. I just can't believe she's been lying to us all and pretending to be all friendly when she's nothing more than a slimy, conniving, Slytherin lunatic. Just like her father. They're probably planning an attack on the school right now, but we can stop them! Every single one of them will be back in Azkaban and they can take Linden Love-Nott-Malfoy-Greengrass with them." James finished his rant and looked at Fred, who's attention was turned to the door. "What are you looking at? Linden-"

"Don't bother James." She said as she wiped her eyes. "You never have to speak to a slimy conniving lunatic like me again."

She ran past him and he could hear her crying as she made her way up to her dormitory.

"James, what were you thinking?" Fred asked shaking his head.

"I don't know." He couldn't believe he'd just said all that stuff; he hadn't meant any of it. James was only 13, but he was beginning to think he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

* * *

><p><strong>Who predicted Linden would be related to the Malfoy's? And why does she go by Love?...we will find out soon enough.<strong>


	32. Don't Forget

"Did you forget  
>That I was even alive<br>Did you forget  
>Everything we ever had<br>Did you forget  
>Did you forget<br>About me"

-Demi Lovato

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Dom was so frustrated that she could barely think straight. Her grades were not the best that they probably could be, Quidditch hadn't been going too well, and she and Carter had be having a real go of it lately. He was all buddy buddy with her self-proclaimed arch enemy, Hollis Yates, and it was hard to hang out with him without her hanging around. She would try to talk to Carter and in would walk Hollis, ready to pick a fight with her about whatever she could think of. Dom had never been known for holding her tongue so there had been a few times when their conversations had gotten "heated." It wasn't like she was upset that they had a tendency to yell at each other like banshees; Dom thought it healthy for a relationship to have a little argument. What bothered her was that her best friend never found it in him to take her side. It was always "Dom took it too far", "Dom said something rude", "Dom is out of line."_

_She wasn't some kind of sap, but where was his loyalty as a friend? Dom had known Carter way longer (about 3 hours longer) and Carter hadn't even liked Hollis at first. He thought she was a bratty, snobbish prick until she batted her scrawny eyelashes and found some common ground with him. Dom hadn't expected him to fall for it so easily but here they were a year later with Hollis slowly pushing Carter out of Dom's life. She wasn't in love with Carter or anything, but she had to admit she was a bit possessive of her things. Friends and all. She'd never taken well to sharing and had even gone as far as to have argued over an imaginary pygmy puff with Roxy once._

_Ultimately, she felt like her life was a complete mess, and even worse than that was the fact that she felt like she had no one to talk to. Teddy was too busy, she and Molly had never really gotten along, Roxy always gave the most outrageous advice that only a complete psycho would follow, Rose was too young, James and Fred would not get it and she wasn't that close to the other girls in her year. That only left one person. It was the last person she'd ever expect to want to talk to about this subject but she was pretty much out of other options. She took a deep breath as she knocked on the door she'd honestly never even walked past before._

"_Who is it?" a small voice asked._

"_Dominique."_

"_Dom?" her sister asked. The door opened and she saw her sister with puffy red eyes standing there with a shocked look on her face. Dom walked right into the tidy space that screamed Victoire and made herself comfortable on the extremely soft couch. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Uh, I wanted to talk." _

"_To me?"_

"_Were you, um crying?"_

"_No, why would I be crying?" She asked as she wiped the last few tears from her eyes. "I stubbed my toe on the way to the door. What did you want to talk about?"_

"_Well, you see there's this guy-"_

"_Carter."_

"_We were really close last year but then he started hanging out with a hag-in-training-"_

"_Hollis."_

"_Vic, please? Anyway; the two of them are getting really close and it's bothering me because I was his friend first and she's truly a horrid girl. She's mean and obnoxious and frustrating. This clearly doesn't bother me- I mean, she could be the meanest twit on the planet for all I care- it's the fact that she only acts like that half the time that irks me. Let her get around Carter and she turns into this innocent, creepy, sweet ninny. It's like her personality changes quicker than the time."_

"_Have you tried talking to her? I mean, you guys go to class together and sleep 5 feet away from each other."_

"_Yes, but every conversation we start ends with someone threatening to hex the other. Except of course, I'm the one who Carter threatens to stop speaking to because I should be taking the high road."_

"_Dominique Weasley taking the high road? I don't think this guy knows you well at all."_

"_I really am trying; I just don't know where to go from here."_

"_Have you tried expressing these feelings to Carter? He seems understanding enough, I'm sure if you made it absolutely clear that he's been hurting your feelings he'd try to balance his time with both of you."_

"_Impossible. It's got to be either me or her because she and I will never get along. I guess I've known it all along, I just didn't want to admit it because I knew that if I made him choose-"_

"_He may not choose you." Vic finished. "Well, I'll tell you from experience that sometimes boys don't always know what they want right away. You've got to either tell him how you feel or face the possibility of losing him. Do you want to know my opinion though?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_He's an idiot if he lets you go."  
><em>

* * *

><p>"Hey C.T!" Dominique yelled joining her friend at the Gryffindor Table.<p>

"Morning Dom!" he responded. She started to grab as much bacon as she could when she noticed Carter waving his head toward Hollis. _Ugh, why do I have to speak?_

"Hollis." she greeted with a nod.

"Dominique. Are you sure you want that much bacon? It can't be good for your figure." Dom just wanted to make a note that Yates had started this; anything said or done after this point was merely a reaction to Hollis' childish comments. "No comeback? Hell must be getting cooler and cooler by the second."

"Oh Hollis, I'm sure all that make-up can't be good for your brain, but you use it anyway."

"I'll have you know that it's only a little make-up and I use it to accentuate my natural glow. Maybe you should try it"

"I think I'll pass on that. Besides, if you actually had a glow you wouldn't need to accentuate it because you'd have it…naturally. Just admit that beneath all that gunk is a ghoul that escaped from its natural habitat."

"You're positively clueless; such a waste." She mumbled under her breath.

"I'm so sorry Hollis you're going to have to speak up. My ears don't pick up bull shit well."

"Seriously guys?" Carter interrupted. "Can't we go one day without the two of you going after each other?"

"I can, I don't know about Butch over there." Hollis teased.

"Oh please, you wouldn't last a second. You just insulted me right then!"

"I wasn't aware that it counted as an insult if it was true, Butch." _Strike 3. _That was it. Dom was sick and tired of this little bint trying to get under her skin all the time. If she wanted to get a rise out of Dominique, she was going to get her wish. Without thinking (much) Dom picked up her pumpkin juice and splashed it in the girls face. It seemed to move in slow motion, but she couldn't stop the liquid once it was soaring through the air. Hollis' hair was dripping with pumpkin juice and it slid down her face and onto her blouse, turning it an orange/brown color.

The laughter that erupted in the hall was deafening and in a flash Hollis had run out of the Hall with Carter following behind her. She just couldn't catch a break. Dom looked at James and Fred who were doubled over with laughter. She decided to run after them, considering that if she stayed she'd more than likely get a detention from Vic or one of the many teachers that had witnessed their little spat. As she ran through the castle towards Gryffindor Tower, she thought back over her spat with Hollis. She knew she wasn't crazy and that Hollis had started it all. Dom hadn't wanted to speak to the wench anyway but Carter made her, and she decided to respond with a rude comment. She may have said she was taking the high road last year but the high road didn't include letting some two-faced 13 year old make fun of her in front of her entire house. Dom had every right to say the things she said to that girl and it may not have been the best idea to throw pumpkin juice at her, but a girl can only take so much.

"Password please?" The fat lady asjed.

"Gillyweed."

As soon as Dom walked through the portrait hole, she saw Carter sitting on _her _family's couch with Hollis crying into his lap. He took one look at her and stood up from the couch.

"D, before you come any closer I think you should apologize."

"Me apologize? You are aware that she started it right? I would know, I made a mental note."

"A what? Whatever, I honestly don't care who started it, but you were the one who took it too far."

"Of course. Just like always Dominique takes it too far. You seem to forget that she called me butch, fat and a waste, but Hollis Yates is above all; she never gets blamed for anything."

"It's different-"

"How on earth is that different? What the bloody hell is so great about her that she's allowed be so nasty to me?"

"She's just…I dunno, more fragile than you." He stuttered.

"More fragile than me. You mean physically?"

"No, I don't know. Emotionally. She has feelings and cares about what people think about her and stuff."

"She has feelings?" Dom asked incredulously. "And I don't?"

"It's not that, it's just- you're my best mate and she's-"Dom sighed as the boy trailed off, unsure of what to say. She looked over at Hollis who was giving her the same smirk she did this time last year when she told Dom that Carter would never choose her because she was just one of the guys. That's obviously what all of this was about. The reason Dom always got blamed when it came to Hollis was because in Carter's eyes, they weren't equal. In his eyes Dom was just one of his "mates" that wouldn't stop bickering with the girl he had a crush on. Because Dom didn't wear make-up or gossip or brew love potions, she wasn't really a girl in his eyes. That was completely unfair and if he truly felt that way, Dom didn't need to be friends with him anyway.

"You know what?" she said softly. "Just forget it all. Forget the fighting, forget we were ever friends; you guys won't have to worry about me anymore."

"D.W., wait-"

"No, I'm done. I'm sorry about the pumpkin juice Hollis." She said as she walked toward the stairs to her room before these two idiots could see her crying, "Consider it a little victory gift. You win."

She took the stairs two at a time and was on her bed crying in not time. She couldn't believe she had just let that wench win, but technically she had never been a qualified player. Carter would never see her as fair competition, and in her eyes that meant they couldn't be friends either. She looked down at the bracelet she'd gotten from Carter and chuckled at the thin, black, pathetic looking strand that was left. If that wasn't a clear indication of how their friendship was a disaster, she didn't know what was. She unclasped the mocking piece of jewelry and threw it under her bed before diving into her stash of chocolate frogs that had an instantaneous effect on her mood.

Friends? Blech. Who needs friends when you have chocolate?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Are you all ready for my insanely long apology for being such a horrible updater? Here it goes... I'm so so sorry about the posting and lacking quality of these last few chapter. I made the idiotic decision of taking both Accounting and Economics this semester and it has taken it's toll on my free time. We've only got 3 chapters to go and I'm estimating to have the story completed by the end of the week! I just want to thank everyone that stuck with the story for the beginning and express how grateful I am for the reviews, advice, and suggestions. Love you all!**

**-Jazz**


	33. All I Want For Christmas

"I don't want a lot this Christmas  
>There is just one thing I need<br>I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree  
>I just want you for my own<br>More than you would ever know"

-Mariah Carey

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

**__**_"Roxy." Lex whispered for the tenth time. He had barely started his essay and had been distracting her the entire time. She had begun to realize coming to the library with this git was a horrible idea. "Roxyyyy. Roxanne!"_

_"WHAT?" she screamed_

_"Shhh" he warned with a mocking smile._

_"What do you want?"_

"_Go out with me." Lex said suddenly as he grabbed her quill from her hand. She kicked his foot under the table and gave him a satisfied smile when he winced._

"_Lex, how many times do I have to say no? I do not want to go out with you." Roxy said for what felt like the millionth time. She hadn't expected Lex to actually persist in asking her out over the course of the year. She figured he'd take the rejection the first time and move on to his next conquest, but as you would have it, he'd been sticking around a lot lately._

"_Why not? Is it the age difference?"_

"_No, we're the same age idiot. Has it ever occurred to you that I just don't want to?"_

"_It had not. You know, there are plenty of girls that would have said yes before I even got the question out the first time." He said with a smirk._

"_And yet, here you are badgering me. Why don't you go find one of the other girls?"_

"_I don't want any of them. You're the only girl for me and I won't stop until you go out with me."_

"_Ugh, Lex. Leave me alone."_

"_Not until you give me a solid reason for not wanting to date me. I'm a perfectly decent candidate to be your suitor. It's not like you're taken." She raised one eyebrow challengingly._

"_I'll have you know that I actually am taken. Brighton Pierce is spending the holiday with my family at The Burrow."_

"_Brighton Pierce? Oh come on, you can't seriously be dating that sap." Roxy laughed at the sound of panic in his voice._

"_Wow you've really got it bad. Did I detect a hint of jealousy in your voice?"_

"_Me? Jealous? Never."_

"_Whatever, I'm not dating him. He doesn't like me, and if he does I don't feel the same way."_

"_And with good reason. That kid is just too soft for a girl like you; he wouldn't last a week. What's he going home with you for?"_

"_His parents are away on vacation and since his sister is good friends with my little brother I invited him to our house so they didn't have to stay here."_

"_And of course he wants you."_

"_He does not."_

"_I bet you twenty galleons he asks you out."_

"_And I bet you twenty galleons he's won't. Honestly, he's just spending the holiday with us."_

"_And your family won't mind having two extra mouths to feed?"_

"_Are you kidding me? My grandmother loves doting on us and our friends. She replied to my owl within 45 minutes." Lex didn't respond to her but she could see that he was thinking about something. "Hello? Earth to Lex."_

"_Oh, sorry." He said as he gathered his things and retreated from their table. "I'll see you later."_

"_Where are you going?" she yelled as he got farther and farther away, earning stares from the other students in the library. "You have my quill!"  
><em>

* * *

><p>Roxy's Christmas break had been just what she'd needed. She had gone shopping with her mum, slept as late as she wanted, and spent most of the days building snow men and having snowball fights with Fred, Brighton and his sister Leah. They had woken up at 8 Christmas morning, which was late in the Weasley household, and drank hot chocolate and opened presents with everyone. After cleaning the house a bit and getting dressed, they were all ready to head to The Burrow. Roxy hadn't seen her family in a whole week, so she couldn't get there sooner. Everyone else would be driving there (Leah had never been in a car and her dad loved to show off that he was a better driver then his muggle-born wife), but Roxy and Brighton were just going to floo over so they could get there faster.<p>

"You ready Brighton?" she asked to her friend.

"Yeah, I just wanted to say something first."

"Go for it."

"Well, we've been friends for a while…and I uh, uh, you know, I've had a c-crush on you since last year. I was just wondering if, you know, you wanted to maybe go out with me?" _Seriously?_

"Brighton, I don't know what to say." She answered carefully. She knew she couldn't just make a joke of it like she did with Lex, and if she didn't handle this correctly the rest of her Christmas break could be very awkward.

"You could say yes." He said sweetly.

"Aww, I could. But, I don't know if I'm really looking to date anyone right now. I hope that's ok."

"Yeah, it's no big deal. I knew my chances were slim when I saw you started hanging out with that Alvarez kid; but it couldn't hurt to ask."

"You don't hate me do you?" she asked, hoping she hadn't put a damper on his holiday.

"Are you kidding? Everybody loves you Roxy, I dare not be the bloke that breaks the trend. You ready to go?"

"Yes, let's." Roxy was so glad that Brighton had been a sport about it. Him asking her out was extremely out of the blue, and she was slightly pissed that Lex had been right. She was also a little bothered by the fact the he was under the impression that she and Lex were "hanging out". That was absurd. The two of them stepped into the fireplace together and two words later they were stumbling into the place she called home. In true Weasley fashion the place was a mad house. "Welcome to The Burrow." She practically yelled.

"It's…busy." He said as he looked around amazed. There were people everywhere. Her Uncles Ron, Harry and her Aunt's Ginny and Hermione were playing a game of exploding snap. Ron was accusing Hermione of cheating and complaining that he got stuck being partners with Ginny. Hugo and Louis were looking in awe at the soccer ball that was floating around the room on its own, while her Uncle Percy stood off to the side with his wand behind his back pretending to be looking at the Christmas tree. James was sneaking around the tree doing Merlin knows what and Dom was on the floor, shockingly playing dolls with Lucy and Lily. Brighton seemed to not know exactly where to look.

"Hey Roxy, is that your boyfriend?" Lily asked, prompting everyone in the room to turn her way.

"Boyfriend?" Ron asked, "Does George know about this? What are you doing with my niece?"

"Honestly Ronald." His wife chastised. "Roxy, why don't you introduce us to your friend."

"They're a very dramatic lot." she mumbled to Brighton. "Right. Everyone this is Brighton Pierce. Gryffindor, third year, we're just friends."

"Just friends?" Percy asked.

"Well, we did go on a date once and I have asked her out, but she said no." Brighton answered.

"Good on you Roxy! Happy Christmas!" Teddy yelled. The entire room clapped and cheered and went back to what they were doing before. A mad house. "Molly's looking for you in the kitchen. She said, and I quote, "come alone."

"Why alone? What about Brighton?" she asked.

"He can stay here with us; get to know us a little better."

"You ok with that Brighton?" she asked, not wanting to leave him alone with the men of her family.

"Of course he is." Teddy answered. "Scurry along." She left Brighton with her family and went to look for Molly. She had not one clue what that girl wanted, and with Molly it was better if you just don't guess. She walked into the kitchen and saw Vic, her Aunt Fleur and her Grandmother stirring things at the counter and Molly sat at the table with Lex chopping vegetables. _Wait, Lex?_

"What is_ he_ doing here?" she asked.

"Roxanne Aurora Weasley, that is no way to speak to our guests." Her Grandmother snapped. "Where are your manners?"

"It's perfectly alright Mrs. Weasley; I'm used to her temper."

"Oh dearie, call me Molly! Roxanne, help Molly and your friend cut the carrots. I swear you'd think we raised you in a barn." Roxy couldn't believe it. He had somehow buttered up her Grandmother and gotten her yelled at on Christmas! She huffed as she sat between Molly and Lex and started using her wand to slice the carrots. "_Without _magic missy!"

"Wow." Lex whispered. "Now I see where you get your temper."

"Oh shut up." Roxy looked over her shoulder and saw that her Grandmother had left the room. "Why are you here, Lex? I'm sure Molly had something to do with it."

"Well, someone told me that their Grandmother enjoyed doting on her Grandchildren's friends and since I'd rather not spend another Christmas within Hogwarts' walls, I asked Molly if she'd invite me to her place." He answered.

"And Uncle Percy just let you?"

"Yep. He interned with my dad over the summer and my dad was thrilled to have someone to talk to about all his Magical Law jibber jabber." Molly shrugged. She was absolutely no help in this.

"Whatever. Did everyone give you the third degree like they did with Brighton?" she asked him, hoping he'd gotten it worse.

"Actually I already knew your Uncles Ron and Harry from working at the Ministry this summer and everyone else was more welcoming than I could have asked for. I know this may shock you, but I'm not as big of a prat as you like to make me out to be in Roxy land."

"Just cut your stupid carrots." She said, making the three of them laugh. She wasn't shocked that Molly's dad had allowed him to stay, but for her entire family to just coddle him like a baby was mind-blowing. Even her Grandmother had succumbed to his charm.

"As much as I enjoy chopping, I'd much rather take a walk. Would you like to join me Roxy?"

"Outside? But it's cold." She complained.

"Well, I happen to be a wizard and I know a pretty decent warming charm. Up you go."

Roxy looked over at Molly who was mouthing 'Go' and nodding her head. "Fine, let's go." The two of them put on their coats and scarves even though Lex was going to use a warming charm. They had walked for about three minutes when Roxy started searching through her pockets for a little red pouch. She swallowed her pride and handed him the bag. "Happy Christmas."

"What's this?" he asked.

"20 galleons. That was the bet, right?" It took a second for him to remember the bet they had made, but when he did he shook his head and sighed.

"No. Did he really ask you out? When?"

"Right before we came here actually. It was really sweet."

"And your answer was…?"

"A word you're all too familiar hearing me say." She said with a wink.

"Oh no, you turned the bloke down? You better stop denying all these guys before there are enough of us to start a club." Roxy laughed at her foolish friend as she linked arms with him. "He's honestly not your type, Rox."

"Is that so? Well then since you know me so well, who pray tell, is my type?"

"Clearly a tall, dark, strapping bloke that can keep up with you both mentally and physically. He's got to be smart and quick-tongued; otherwise you wouldn't have the pithy banter that you enjoy so much. You're from a family full of heroes and geniuses so he's got to have a heart of gold and plan to do something meaningful with his life. It also wouldn't help if your family was completely in love him." She could tell he was trying to make a joke of it, but those really were the things she looked for in a guy. He had hit the nail on the head, but when she added all those qualities up she made an odd realization.

"If I'm not mistaken, this guy sounds a lot like you."

"Well, you know what they say. If the wand fits…"

"Wear it. You really aren't as big of a prat as you used to be. I actually think I'm beginning to like you. As a friend of course."

"Oh, that reminds me. I got you something." He said before digging in his pockets and pulling out two coins. "Happy Christmas."

"You got me two galleons? Is that all our newly formed friendship is worth to you?" she joked.

"Actually I only got you one galleon; the other one's for me. And it's not a galleon, it's a messenger coin. I used a Protean charm and a few other charms so that we can use them to communicate with each other."

"Like the enchanted coins Aunt Hermione used for Dumbledore's Army?" she asked, mildly amazed at his gift.

"It doesn't work exactly the same, but that's the general idea. See, all you have to do is hold the coin and think of what you want say. First it will warm up so you know I'm trying talk to you and then what I'm thinking will show up on both of our coins." He explained.

"And just what makes you think I want to communicate with you?" she teased.

"Oh admit it; you love the fact that I get your crass, quick humor. It's the same reason I enjoy talking with you. You get me." She took another look at her gift and felt happiness welling up inside her.

"Lex Alvarez, this is brilliant. Thank you."

"So you like it?"

"Are you kidding me, I love it! It's the most thoughtful gift I've ever gotten."

"Good, should we test them out then? I'll think of something." Roxy waited and waited, and as promised her coin heated up and she saw words flash across the screen where the numbers used to be. She looked down and almost laughed out loud when she read the words.

'**Will you go out with me?'**

"Seriously Lex? I thought we could we could go one day without doing this."

"Ah ah ah, use the coin!" She let out a frustrated sigh and thought of four words.

'**I'll race you inside'**

Roxy took off towards the house without answering his question and Lex was hot on her heels. Part of the reason she didn't answer was because she wanted to keep him on his toes. After all, he had tried to be slick about turning her gift into another way to ask her out and she was no softie. The other part was because this time when he asked her, she wasn't sure 100% sure if the answer would still be no, and that deep down she may just be a big softie after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Woop woop! Busted out another chapter today! *does happy dance*<strong>

**-Jazz**


	34. Love Sex Magic

"Let me drive my body around ya  
>I bet you know what I mean<br>Cause you know that I can make you believe  
>In love and sex and magic"<p>

-Ciara and Justin Timberlake

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Molly hated the spring. Usually, it was her favorite season, but this year she had saved up all of her hate-like feelings for March and April. Yes, the weather was usually nice, but with the spring this year came her OWL's and she didn't feel the least bit prepared. On top of that, she rarely got to see Chase anymore because of the stupid Quidditch team. _

_She, Carson, Lex and Kristina had been in the library for hours studying, and Molly just couldn't take it anymore._

"_Guys, I'm gonna have to go. I will literally poke my eyes out if I read anymore." She said, breaking their silence._

"_You can't leave! We're not even close to being done." Kristina complained. Molly understood her friend's concern, but they were completely different when it came to studying. If she didn't have it by now, she more than likely wasn't going to get it; and cramming only made her forget the stuff she already knew._

"_I know, but I'm tired. Plus we've been at this all night."_

"_That's usually how all-nighters work."_

"_Not for me." She said while gathering her things. "I'm out."_

"_Wait, I'm coming with you." Lex said, catching up to her as she left the library. "Bloody Ravenclaws; they'll probably be in there until the day of the exam."_

"_Exactly. So how's everything going? We rarely talk anymore; you're always with Roxy." She teased. Molly was actually excited that they had become friends, but she liked to give Lex a hard time because it was obvious that he was crazy about Roxy even though he spent years claiming he'd never be a one woman man._

"_Hey, I can't help that we've got chemistry; plus, would you rather me spend all of my time with Roxy or all of the other girls I used to hang out with?" he asked._

"_Definitely Roxy. As long as it's _only _Roxy." She said as menacingly as possible._

"_Of course! I don't know what your cousin did to me but it's gonna take a lot for me to screw this one up. I'm this close to getting her to say yes you know?"_

"_I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you." Honestly, Molly thought the two of them would make a great couple, but Roxy had told her not to give him any kind of hope if he ever brought it up._

"_For some reason, I don't even care if she says no anymore. It's weird, but even if we were just friends I'd be happy because I get to spend time with her, joke with her, get yelled at by her; it's crazy. But, I totally get why you and Finnegan used to be together all of the time." He said as they entered the Common room that was practically empty. Most of their housemates had probably gone to sleep by now, which is what she'd be doing if it wasn't for the OWL's._

"_What do you mean used to be? Me and Chase are still together a lot." She defended._

"_Yeah, but you guys aren't "the couple to look at" anymore. You're kind of boring honestly."_

"_Boring? Just because we don't frolic in the halls and have lover's quarrels doesn't make us boring. We're just-"_

"_Boring. It's ok though, it happens in all relationships. Except for me and Roxy of course. Night Molly."_

"_Goodnight." Could people really think she, Molly Olivia Weasley, was honestly boring? She and Chase had come a long way from flashing signs and excessive PDA, but that didn't make them boring. She hoped Chase didn't think she had become boring and safe; that was so not her. Yes, they had toned it down a bit, but Chase had never really liked being the center of everyone's attention anyway. Yeah, Molly was positive they hadn't gotten "boring". Why would she listen to Lex anyway? One person's opinion didn't mean anything.  
><em>

* * *

><p>"If one more person says Chase and I are boring, I will scream." Molly vented as she sat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. She sat with Roxy, Lex and Madison, interrupting whatever they were talking about. "You guys don't think we're boring do you?"<p>

"Of course not." Madison answered a bit unsurely. "Who told you that?"

"Well the first person was Lex." She said. Hearing this, Roxy punched him in the arm, but he took her hand and put it behind her back before tickling her. Clearly satisfied with her reaction, Lex began laughing as well. _They're adorable._

"Stop it Alvarez!" Roxy warned as she pulled herself together. "Now other than this idiot, who else has said that to you?"

"No one else said those exact words, but the other day James thanked me for sparing his eyes of our "love fest" these past few months and Agatha Nott just asked me if we were even still together because he looked like "a good time." I would have hexed her right there if I wasn't actually looking forward to going to Hogsmead today."

"Ugh, she's disgusting. I'll hex her for you."

"Thanks, but that's not even the worst part. She then decided to ask me if he actually was a good time and told her I didn't know because…well, I don't know obviously. Then, she laughed and said 'well, it's clear this relationship won't last much longer. I may just be able to find out for myself if how good he is.'" She mimicked in that disgusting voice. "Can you believe her?"

"She's foul Molly; don't let her get to you." Madison replied angrily. "You know Chase isn't going to break up with you."

"I know, but maybe she had a point. I mean she's a sixth year with him and all the girls in their year are probably…doing _that. _What if that has something to do with why we've been so out of it lately._"_

"Oh no no no. I know what you're thinking and that's not the answer. Don't have sex with him." She practically screamed.

"What's wrong with it? We love each other."

"Because you want to do this for all the wrong reasons. If Agatha hadn't said anything to you today, you wouldn't even be thinking about this right now." Lex answered.

"Since when are you promoting sleeping with people for the right reasons?" she asked him. Before this thing with Roxy he'd slept with plenty of girls, and he was only sixteen as well.

"I didn't even know what the right reasons were before; you do know, and this thing with Ag the Hag isn't one of them."

"Plus, you're sixteen! I don't think you have a clue what you're doing. " Madison added.

"My mum was fifteen-"

"Well, be your own person." Roxy interrupted. "Don't follow your mum. I mean, bless her heart but times were different when she was fifteen-"

"Yeah," Molly answered, "there was a Dark Lord roaming around trying to take over the world."

"It doesn't matter about that; don't do this."

"Don't do what?" Rose asked innocently as she joined them at the table along with Al and Scorpius.

"Don't…cheat on an exam." Roxy covered. "It would be stupid, right Rosie? Especially if she only wanted to do it because another person encouraged her."

"Oh yes. It may seem like a good idea now, but you'll regret it later; and you don't want to do something because of someone else because they don't have power over you." Molly was shocked at how fitting Rose's advice was to the situation, but she had a point.

"Fine, I won't do it. I have to go meet Chase for Hogsmead, see you guys down there." None of them understood. Yes, Agatha had tempted her to have sex with Chase, but it wasn't like they weren't in love with each other. They had been together for two years now and he _had _given her a promise ring and said he'd love her forever. There was a lot to factor in when it came to this and only she and Chase could make that decision. It didn't take her long to get down to the gates and spot her boyfriend that towered over most of the other students. "Babe!" she squealed, loud enough for the entire castle to hear. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him until he pulled her down with a face redder than the apple she'd eaten this morning.

"Molly, what are you doing? There are people around." He said quietly.

"So? It's not like they've never seen us before."

"It's just unnecessary love. These people don't have to see our every move. Let's go."

"Right, yeah." The two of them walked hand in hand down the road to Hogsmead, talking about any and everything they could think of. She kept trying to flirt and be cute like they used to be, but he just wasn't feeling it. They took a seat in the Three Broomsticks and ordered a few butter beers.

"Could they be anymore disgusting?" Chase commented out of the blue. Molly turned to see whatever it was he was talking about, but all she saw was a couple making out. "They might as well just rent a room."

"Let them be; you didn't mind PDA when we used to be like that." She countered.

"What? We were never that bad."

"Yeah, we kinda were. My cousins complained about it all the time. I actually kind of miss how we used to be. It was like, impossible to separate us."

"Yeah, I guess we've just gotten a bit of age to us."

"A bit of age? I can't believe you just said that, Chase. It's a relationship, not a bottle of wine."

"Whoa don't make it into a bad thing."

"It is a bad thing. You just compared us to a bottle of wine! Old people drink wine." She whined. She didn't even really know why she was getting so upset.

"I did not compare us to wine, you took my comment and twisted it so that it seemed like I compared us to wine."

"Do you think we're getting boring?" she asked suddenly "Like, are you bored with me?"

"No. We're not boring, we're just comfortable." He said as he finished off his drink.

"Comfortable? I don't want to be comfortable."

"It's not a bad thing; it just happens." She understood what he was saying, but at the same time, she didn't want to have a "comfortable" relationship. She wanted things to stay fresh and new and exciting for the rest of their lives. They were going to be together for the rest of their lives! They couldn't fizzle out after two years. She and Chase needed to find the spontaneity they used to have and rekindle their flame. "Uh oh, what's that look in your eye? You're planning something." Ugh, he knew her so well.

"Come with me." She said as she headed out of the door. He quickly paid for their drinks and followed her out into the streets of Hogsmead Village. He had to run to catch up to her but she wasn't going to slow down. She had to keep going or she wouldn't go through with this.

"Molly, why are we going this way? The castle's back that way."

Instead of telling him where they were going, she simply led him to the Shrieking Shack. She knew it was cliché to hook up in the Shack, but she didn't have many other options right now. They closed the door behind themselves and Molly literally pounced on him. He caught her easily and kissed her more passionately than he had in a really long time. They hadn't had much of a chance to do anything other than study, sleep or Quidditch in a _very _long time and it didn't take long for Molly to feel how turned on he was. The two of them stayed connected the entire time as they made their way towards the bed. She let her feet find the floor and began unbuttoning his belt with embarrassingly shaky hands.

"Molly, what are you doing?" She didn't answer him for fear of saying something stupid or never shutting up. She looked at the bed behind her and pointed her wand at it steadily. "Scourgify."

She didn't see much of a change appearance wise, but from the stories she'd heard of people coming here she was going to assume she had made it decent enough. She took her hair out of its ponytail and sat down before slowly taking off her top. He knelt down so that they were at eye level and placed a hand on her cheek.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. She took a brief moment to think about what everyone had said. They all made sense but they just didn't get it; he meant everything to her and she wanted to share this moment with him. Molly took a deep breath before answering the best way she could.

"I love you."

"I love you too."


	35. Finally

"Now by destiny can begin  
>Though it will have a different set<br>Something strange and new is happening  
>Finally now my life doesn't seem so bad<br>It's the best I've ever had"

-Fergie

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Al had done a good job of suppressing his nerves about school starting up until now, but as they approached the castle in the tiny boats, his feelings began to change. Was he really ready to be away from his parents? Was he a bad brother for leaving Lily all alone? He and his mother had been making a lot of progress in their relationship; would she go back to forgetting about him when he got back? If he got into Slytherin like James said, would he even be allowed to come back home?_

"_Oh no, I think I'm going to be sick." He said as he leaned over the boat. Luckily he was only dry heaving, but it was enough to make the girls in the boat next to him scream. "Sorry."_

"_Is he always like this?" Scorpius asked Rose._

"_No." Rose answered, sounding sympathetic. "He's just nervous even though he has absolutely nothing to be nervous about."_

"_I've got a good bit of things to worry about actually; I just made a list of them in my head and it literally made me sick to my stomach."_

"_Stop being such a big baby Al. I am telling you that you have nothing to worry about and am I ever wrong?"_

"_No." he admitted._

"_Exactly; now calm down."_

"_Fine." The boats had reached the castle at this point so whether or not he believed Rose there was nothing he could do about it now._

"_Wow." Scorpius whispered. "You just let her boss you around like that?"_

"_I do not boss him! Women have a strong influence in our family; he's used to it. Now come on you two, we'll miss the sorting!"_

_Like his cousin said, Al was completely used to being bossed around by the girls in his family, however it was clear that Scorpius had never had a girl tell him what to do in his life. He gave his friend a new look that he hoped said "You don't know what you've gotten yourself into." The three of them followed the other students through the castle that seemed to have gotten bigger since they came for Teddy's graduation. Albus, along with the other first years, waited with Professor Longbottom outside of the Great Hall as he explained to them the details of the sorting. _

_It sounded dreadful. First, they had to parade through the huge room while all of the older students watched and stared, then they had to stand in front of the room until each of them was sorted. It was just his luck that his name started with a 'P'. He'd probably be standing so long that his legs would fall asleep and he wouldn't be able to use his legs to walk to the stool, where everyone would watch as the hat put him in a category that would follow him for the rest of his life. Al wondered what everyone's reaction would be when he was sorted into Slytherin. James would collect whatever money he had invested on a bet against Al and the rest of his family would hang their heads in shame. Yeah, he definitely wasn't going in there. He slowly backed away from the group until he bumped into someone. _

"_Al! What are you doing?" Vic asked._

"_Leaving; it was great seeing you." he said as he headed back down the hall._

"_Not so fast mister." She said as she caught his arm. " Why would you want to leave?" Al was embarrassed to express his worries to his older cousin, but if he had any chance of getting out of this place, she was probably his best bet at the moment._

"_I can't do this. I'm going to screw something up or make a fool of myself- actually, there's no need to leave on my own. Once my dad finds out I've been sorted into Slytherin they'll have me sent back home in a flash." He reasoned. With that figured Al headed towards the Hall, only to be pulled back by Victoire again._

"_Come back here you lunatic! What makes you think any of that is going to happen? You haven't even been sorted."_

"_But James said-"_

"_Oh for crying out loud, I'll pay you 150 galleons to never listen to a word your brother says again. He was just trying to make you nervous."_

"_Well color him successful" Al said as he sat on the floor, bringing his knees to his chest. Vic let out a sigh and sat next to him on the ground._

"_The day I came to Hogwarts was a disaster." She said randomly. "Everything was fine until we got on the boats and it was storming outside."_

"_Storming?" he asked surprised._

"_Storming. If it wasn't bad enough that we were all dripping and making gigantic puddles on the floor during the sorting, I tripped on the way to the stool. And by 'tripped' I mean I completely face-planted. I was mortified and I wanted to just go back home as soon as possible, but I got up dusted myself off and seven years later I was made Head Girl; no one even remembers now."_

"_That's great." He said, seeing right through her attempt at making him stay. "I'm still not going in."_

"_Fine. Me neither."_

"_But you have to go, you're Head Girl." He said incredulously. This was a day she had been dreaming of for nearly ten years._

"_Well, I'm scared. I don't know what I'm doing. Plus, it's going to be a lot of pressure, and tons of work, and I could fail. The two of us might as well pack up and get out of here before we make complete fools of ourselves."_

"_That's ridiculous!" he argued, as he heard the doors to the Great Hall open. "You can't just pass up this opportunity; scared or not, you've got to go for it!" She started smiling that "all knowing" smile at him and Al realized that he had just been tricked. She really was a genius._

"_I couldn't have said it better myself. We going in?" she asked._

"_Let's do this." He answered confidently_

"_Oh, and between you and me, James practically begged to be Gryffindor; the wanted to put _him_ in Slytherin." She said with a wink. Al caught up to his classmates and noticed James at the Gryffindor table mouthing the word 'Slytherin'. He shook his head at his idiotic brother and turned his attention to the sorting. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.  
><em>

* * *

><p>"Albus! I thought I told you to make quick work of this game!" Chase shouted from across the Quidditch pitch. "Stop daydreaming and get the friggin Snitch." Al rolled his eyes at their idiotic Captain. He was scared that Ravenclaw might actually beat them for the Championship so he wanted Al to catch the Snitch as soon as it was released. Al was all for that plan, considering Ravenclaw had a really good team this year, but it was Vic's last game and she said she wanted to score 100 points on her own. He understood Chase's thought process, but he was more inclined to listen to Vic. She was already on her eighth goal anyway, so Finnegan could calm down.<p>

Al took a few laps around the pitch, just to make it seem like he was looking for it. He had seen the thing about five minutes ago and hadn't taken his eyes off of it. The Ravenclaw Seeker, Austin Davies, clearly had no idea where it was, as he followed Al wherever he flew. The score was now 140-80 Gryffindor, and Vic only needed to make one more goal to get her hundred points. He watched as Roxy hurled the Quaffle across the field to Vic, who dunked it in the middle hoop dramatically.

"_And Victoire Weasley, Queen of our Castle, scores her 10__th__ goal of the game. That makes the score 160-90."_

Al cheered for Vic along with the rest of the crowd and smiled when she came flying towards him grinning. "Thanks Al! Do your thing!"

"Congratulations!" He said before diving a little lower. He looked behind him, and just as he expected, the Davies was following his every move. At this point Al was making ridiculous patterns all over the pitch, and most of the people in the crowd were laughing at their little dance in the air. Clearly Al was going to have to get crafty, because if he just went for it, the other seeker could cut under him and get to it first. Al stopped flying and hovered near his brother to figure out what he was going to do.

"Al! You're gonna have to listen for it like dad. This idiot is following your every move!" James shouted.

"I know; I don't think I can do it that way though."

"Well you're gonna have to. Davies will either follow your eyes or cut under you. You gotta listen for it." He said before barely blocking another goal. "Come on Al, I know you can do it."

As pathetic as it may be, that was the first time James had ever said anything close to supportive to Al. To know that his brother -who didn't really think anyone other than their dad was great at anything- thought he could do it meant a lot to him.

"Alright, here I go. Don't let them score again."

"Wouldn't dream of it little brother."

Al closed his eyes and slowly tuned out everything around him. He shut out the crowd who was voraciously screaming all kinds of things towards the pitch; he tuned out the sound of his teammates flying around and holding off the Ravenclaw players; he definitely tuned out the sound of Chase Finnegan screaming at him at the top of his lungs. All he wanted to hear was the hum of two thin, golden wings. He'd done this a thousand times with his dad at home, but of course, Harry Potter was a hell of a lot better at it than he was. His dad always said it was 10% skill, 90% instinct, so Al threw caution to the wind and let his broom carry him forward.

When he heard the swoosh of a broom, he guessed that the Ravenclaw seeker was following him again. _Perfect_. As long as the Snitch stayed in that general area he'd be fine. He pushed his broom to half-speed, making sure to keep all of his focus on the sound of the Snitch. He flew a little higher so that Davies was flying underneath him instead of behind him, then pushed his broom it as fast as it would go. The other seeker did the same and at the exact moment that Davies passed him, Al tilted his broom backwards so that he was now flying upside down at full-speed. He reached out behind him and wrapped his hand around the tiny gold ball that had been following the Ravenclaw seeker for the good majority of the game.

"_Gryffindor wins!" the announcer shouted._

He flipped his broom upright and was bombarded with teammates and family members. Victoire, of course, was crying and Roxy and Dom were doing dances on their brooms. Chase looked like he wanted to murder him and their other beater, Damon Foster, had lead the crowd in cheers of 'Potter rules!' It was an amazing feeling and he hoped it would never end. His brother flew up to him and patted him on the back.

"If we were normal brothers I would say something nice-"

"But we're not normal brothers." Al finished.

"You're right; we're Potters."

At the beginning of the year, the sorting hat told Al that he and he alone was his biggest enemy. It had said that he had nothing to worry about and that he would do great things when he learned to believe in himself. It had taken a lot to get to this point, but Al was more confident. He was more outspoken than he used to be and tried not to use shyness as an excuse for not meeting new people. He, unlike Rose, was able to pick up on things in school easily. He was in no way smarter than his cousin; he just didn't have to work as hard. More specifically he was a natural when it came to Potions; a skill he liked to believe he inherited from his namesake and paternal Grandmother. He had also found two great friends in Rose and Scorpius. Scorpius was a real go-getter and Rose was always the voice of reason. Together the three of them were quite a force to be reckoned with.

All in all, when Al looked back to the day he had almost escaped from the castle in fear of being sorted into Slytherin, he couldn't help but laugh at how dramatic he had been. If he hadn't have stepped in that room and gotten sorted, he would have missed out on all the great things that had happened to him. He was really happy with all the accomplishments he'd had over the year, but this was only the beginning of the great things there were to come from him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Only one more chapter** **to go! I can't believe! I know I said it would be completed by the end of the week, but I'm one of those people that starts the week on Monday AND I want the last chapter to be as close to perfection as possible :-)**

**-Jazz**


	36. The Ties That Bind

**Hi Everyone!**

**I absolutely CANNOT believe that this is the last chapter of the story. I just want to take a minute to thank ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE who read, reviewed, favorited, hated, loved and enjoyed this story. It's been such a great journey and I can't believe it's ending so soon! Enough blabbering, just wanted to make sure you all know that you are appreciated :-) I hope this last chapter delivers, answers all your questions, and ties up any loose ends...and with ALL that being said. ENJOY!**

* * *

><p>"Day by day I find these are the ties that bind<br>The little things you do that please me so  
>Aww the way you always understand<br>When simple joy brings peace of mind  
>These are the ties that bind"<p>

-Benton Brook

* * *

><p><strong><em> Fred<em>**

It was the night before Vic's graduation, and instead of going to sleep to make sure they weren't late (which, Vic had promised was a means to get hexed), he was up in his dorm with the worst case of insomnia he'd ever experienced. He couldn't sleep at all and the thoughts of Vic graduating weren't helping his mind relax. He vividly remembered the day she left for Hogwarts. All of the grown-ups were crying and fussing over her, and she had promised all of them that just because she was leaving didn't mean that she was going to forget them. It didn't seem like it had been that long ago at all, and now she was about to graduate and go into training as a healer.

She was going on to conquer the world and save people's lives and he knew she was going to be great at it. He knew she'd be great because she was great at everything. All of the Weasley's had something they were "good" at, and that label usually stuck with them around here. Teddy was the good one, Vic was the perfect one, Molly was the loud one, Roxy was the funny one, James was the wild one, Dom was the careless one, Al was the shy one, Rose was the smart one, Lucy was the eccentric one, Louis was the sporty one, Hugo was the goofy one, and Lily was the cute one. Each and every one of them had distinctive personalities that defined who they were

Fred was, and always had been, just Fred. In a way, he guessed, that could be seen as good. He wasn't conforming and he didn't fit into any specific categories. But on the other hand, they made him exceptionally normal. He couldn't be the normal one a family full of heroes and prodigies and characters. If he had to choose a word that really described him, he'd have to go with safe. He usually stuck to the same routines and followed what other people did for fear of messing things up.

Safe was _not _what he wanted to be remembered as. He was the son of one of Hogwarts' most notorious pranksters and a former professional Quidditch player. There was no way he was going to go down in Hogwarts history as their safe, boring son. There had to be a way to spice things up around here a little bit. Maybe he'd try to do a little experiment. He was going to stop playing it safe and be a little more daring. He was going to say yes to everything. Even if it was something outrageous like jumping in the Black Lake naked, he'd say yes, because what reason was there for him not to. You only live once, right?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Albus<strong>_

"If the girls want to explain to Vic why they're late they can; I say we leave them." Al suggested to Fred, James, and Rose, who were the only ones ready to go on time. Fred and his brother got up in agreement, but Rose stayed seated on the couch. "You coming Rosie?"

"No, I'll wait for them. You guys go on." She answered. It wasn't like the girls would get in trouble anyway; Vic would understand whatever reasons they had for being late, but they'd be hexed into oblivion if they weren't there at exactly 10 a.m. The three boys walked through halls side by side and Al couldn't help but notice how much this looked like a scene from a movie.

They were dressed in the suits Vic had picked out the night before and were being greeted by almost everyone they passed. Even older kids were saying hey and a few girls had complimented them. Al figured James was used to this kind of stuff as he didn't seem to be phased by it.

"Merlin James, I don't see how you deal with this all the time." He said to his brother.

"Deal with what?"

"The stares and everything you get from your fans. It's a bit ridiculous don't you think?"

"Uh, they're not my fans little brother, their yours."

"Mine?"

"Most popular first year, seeker that won the Quidditch Championship for G-house, potions prodigy, creepy resemblance to _the _Harry Potter." Fred teased. "The fans aren't for James, that's all you kid."

"You're joking." Al said in disbelief. He'd been a lot of things in his 11 years, but "popular" was not one of them.

"Unfortunately I'm not cousin."

"Fred's right Al." James added. "I think I even heard a young lady named Reid Longbottom say, and I quote "he's going to be a real catch."

"Al! James!" Lily screamed as she ran towards them, thankfully interrupting James' teasing. "Mummy! Al and James are here!"

"Hey Lils, you act like you haven't seen me in years." He said as he hugged his little sister. SHe really hadn't rememberd her liking him this much when the two of them spent all their time together.

"I know, but I missed you. So much has happened since Christmas! I tried out for Hugo and Louis' football team and I was really good, but they're making me play with the girls, and I finally got that science stuff you were helping me with and I learned that rick where-"

"Lily! Calm down." his mom warned while covering Lily's mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry honey, we let her have Sugar Quills before we left the house. She's 10 shades of crazy right now."

"Hey mum, hey dad. Sugar Quills for breakfast? You guys have lost your touch."

"Well, it was either Sugar Quills or letting her fly here on your father's broom."

"End of your first year buddy, how do you feel?" his dad asked.

Considering this was the first time in a long time since he'd felt comfortable in his own skin or felt completely content and happy, he truthfully answered, "Never been better."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Molly<strong>_

It had been three weeks since Molly had lost her virginity to Chase and she'd been thinking about it non-stop. She wasn't thinking about it in the romantic way that movies portray, but in the skeptical way where she realized what a mistake it had been. Sure, she loved Chase; but she wasn't ready to give herself so completely to someone like that. Not to mention it had been the wrong time and place. She was one of thousands of girls that had had sex in the Shrieking Shack, and probably the only girl dumb enough to lose their virginity the week before OWL's. It had all just been wrong and things between them had gotten pretty awkward. Afterwards he had gone to Quidditch practice and she buried herself in the library for the rest of the week. Granted, she had made the OWL's her bitch because of her focus, but she was literally avoiding her boyfriend. That's not how she had been expecting to feel after and it had kind of scared that that she didn't really want to see him. He must be feeling awful, and she knew that sex wasn't worth losing her relationship over. She'd just go talk to him and everything would be fine. Just like it always is.

Molly put the finishing touches on her make-up, which was very light considering she couldn't find her good make-up kit, and made the walk to Chase's room. She took a deep breath before knocking on his door, but had half a mind to turn around and just ignore the situation all together when the door swung open, revealing her boyfriend and two of his roommates.

"Molly!" he said excitedly before he kissed her on the cheek. "Aren't you supposed to be at Vic's graduation?"

"I've got half an hour before it starts, I thought we could maybe talk. I mean, if you want to."

"Of course." he said happily, causing his roommates to laugh. She prayed to any and evrey person she could in hopes that he hadn't told them. " Should we talk in here?" he asked. She looked past him at his roommates, who were doing a terrible job of pretending they weren't interested in their conversation.

"No, the 7th year boys will be down at the ceremony. We can go up there and talk." She used the 30 second trip up the tower to mentally prepare for their conversation. She wasn't sure exactly how he felt about it, and she wasn't sure if he was going to take her news well. She barely gotten the door closed before he swung her around and started kissing her fiercely. She was so caught off guard that she let herself get caught up in the kiss for a while before getting her bearings. "Chase, wait; this isn't what I wanted."

"What?" he asked breathlessly.

"I don't want to I have sex again; I really just wanted to talk."

"Oh ok then." he said slowly as he sat down and straightened up his clothes a bit. "What's up?"

"It's about…well it's about the other day. A while back actually, at the Shrieking Shack?"

"Yeah." He said with a small smile, "What about it?"

"Well, I don't know if…I mean, I was wondering how…umm. Do you think we did the right thing? I-I don't. I mean, are you ok with it? Because, it's been driving me crazy and I just don't know if we went about it the right way. I'm rambling, what do you think?" she asked as she blushed. She was clearly uncomfortable talking about this and if that wasn't a big enough sign that she wasn't ready for this step she didn't know what was.

"Molly, I'd never ask you to do anything you don't want to do."

"I know, I just felt like it was what we were supposed to be doing. Honestly, I don't even know if it was good or not. I mean, I don't really have anything to compare it to."

"Trust me, it was good." he said blushing.

"Really? That's good to know for next time; I just don't think next time should be so soon."

"That's fine. I'm not going to say I didn't enjoy myself, but if you aren't happy we don't have to have sex."

"Are you sure? Because I know a lot of the girls your age are starting to…do that. And I just don't want you to be upset."

"You really think I'd be upset?"

"I don't know. I would be if I was you. I mean I practically threw myself at you and now I'm saying that I think we should wait a little longer. It only happened once and things are already starting to get kind of weird between us. I think that sex changes relationships and I don't want to change what we have right now, you know?"

"Yes, and I'm absolutely ok with that."

"You're positive?"

"Molly, I love you. I could care less what the people my age are doing; we can wait as long as you want. We're in this for the long haul; we have the rest of our lives to do whatever we want." He was so understanding and sweet, Molly felt kind of stupid for thinking he'd break up for her about it. She was always overreacting about the simplest things.

"Thank you. I love you Chase."

"I love you too. Are you riding the train back or leaving with your family?"

"A few extra hours sans my little sister? I'll definitely be on the train. See you later." She practically bounced down the stairs and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. It wasn't like she and Chase weren't ever going to have sex again, but they definitely weren't going to have another go any time soon. She made it to the common room and joined Roxy and Rose, who were all ready to go to the Graduation ceremony.

"How'd it go?" Roxy asked, trying to sound casual so as to not peak Rose's interest.

"Painless. Where's Dom?"

"She's been locked in her room doing Merlin knows what." Rose said sounding annoyed. It was probably killing her that they were going to be a few minutes late to the ceremony. Molly didn't really care that much though. "She's got five minutes before I go after her."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Dom<em>**

Dom felt horrible that she was making everyone late for the graduation. They had all promised to meet in the common room and go down together, but it was taking her forever to figure out how to work the stupid make-up kit she'd snuck out of Molly's dorm last night. There were so many colors and compartments and brushes and sponges, she honestly had no idea where to start. She really wanted to call for help but Vic was at the ceremony, Molly would kill her for taking her make-up, and she didn't really have or trust anyone else. If women all over the world could do it, Dom could too, and she'd seen enough girls put on the stuff to at least try and follow what she'd seen as best as she could.

She didn't bother with any foundation because she was much paler than Mo, but she used a little of the gold eye shadow on her eyes and put some silver shadow in the creases to "make her look awake" as she'd heard Vic say once. Dom did the best she could to draw a straight line on her lower eye lids with the eyeliner and did a few strokes of mascara for good was no way she was going to put on blush or lipstick, so she settled for some cherry chap stick she had never used before. Her skin was so fair than the red tint in the Chap Stick gave her lips a little color. Grudgingly, she took her long hair out of its usual french braid and let it fall in waves around her face before taking one last look in the mirror. Surprisingly, she didn't look half bad.

It'd taken her half of the morning to dig through her things to find a yellow sundress and the pearl earring and necklace set she had gotten from her mum (that she personally, never expected to use. Ever.) She had even sprayed a little perfume before throwing on a pair of (uncomfortable) nude colored flats. For some reason, Dom always thought she'd look like a clown if she ever got all 'girly' but she just looked a like a girl. And she didn't really mind that; she looked neat and tidy, like Vic used to when she was her age. She took a deep breath as she made her way to the common room and her cousins. Dom noticed that the room was unusually silent, and everyone was staring at something. Even Roxy, Molly and Rose were looking with their mouths practically on the floor. Dom looked back to see what could be so enthralling, but there was only stairs behind her. Were they all staring at her? How ridiculous, she couldn't look that bad.

"What are you staring at?" she asked her cousins. "Do I have something on my face? Stop it!"

"Dominique? You look-"

"Later." She said, cutting off whatever compliment or insult Molly was about to give. She pulled Rose by hand as she headed for the portrait hole. "Aren't we late enough? Let's go!"

As much as she loved being the object of everyone's attention, her parents would kill her if they missed Victoire's speech. The four girls ran quickly through the halls of the castle, slowing down only when they reached the door of the Great Hall. She was going to open the door, but Molly stopped her.

"From experience, the boys aren't going to know what to do when they see you; Ignore them, you look great!" She whispered as she fussed over her hair and pinched her cheeks a little. "And if you ever sneak into my room again I'll hex the Veela out of you."

They made it to their seats right as McGonagall called Victoire to the podium. Dom took her seat between Molly and James before daring to look at the members of her family. All of the women were smiling, while the men sported a mixture of shocked, angry, and concerned looks. Teddy's hair was turning red, her father's face was turning red, and James let about a very loud gasp. She gave them all a little wave and hoped they weren't making too big of a scene. Vic would kill her if she ruined her graduation day.

"What the bloody hell?" James asked, earning a smack from his mother. Fred shook his head and sighed.

"First Roxy, now you? You guys must _want _me to get expelled."

"Shh." She warned to everyone. "Vic's about to start."

Dom looked ahead to her sister, who seemed nervous, and gave a small thumbs up and a smile. Her sister took a deep breath and winked back before starting her speech. She could feel another pair of eyes on her still and looked to the right to see Carter staring at her with his mouth open. She wanted to stick out her tongue at him in a 'you made the wrong choice; now deal with it' kind of way, but thought better of it and flashed him a sweet smile before turning her full attention to Victoire.

Maybe a little change had been just what she needed.

* * *

><p><em><strong> Roxy<strong>_

"_It seems like it was just yesterday that we were all boarding the Hogwarts Express for the first time. We had no idea what to expect that day, but all of us carried a dream or a hope with us as we rode the boats, in the pouring rain, to the castle. Whether our dream was to become Quidditch Captain, Head Boy or Girl, Prefect, Record breaker for most detentions, or to just get out of the drenched boats- we came with huge dreams and hopes because we had no idea what we could possibly get into. There were no bars on what we could do because there were no limitations to where our imagination could take us." _Vic said effortlessly. Roxy had heard her rehearse it numerous times and knew how nervous Vic was, but for anyone hearing it for the first time it seemed like she could have been speaking off the top of her head.

"_As we get older, things change. Friends change, dreams change, our likes and dislikes change- _we _change. It's just something that comes with life and for a very long time I thought change was bad. Change is unfamiliar and it's a little scary, and for a long time I honestly just didn't do it. I sat with the same people at lunch, took the same routes to class, and kept following the same rules because I thought that was the way things were supposed to be. But where would we be without change? My parents, your parents, our families fought for change so that we could grow up in a better world. Change_ allows us to learn and grow and find out things about ourselves that we never would have known otherwise. _New things are intimidating and scary but change is good. I look at you all-every single one of you- and see how much we've all changed in just this one year; not to mention the 7 years we've known each other.."_

Roxy had never really thought about how much everyone had changed over the years. Vic had certainly changed. She was no longer the rule-following girl that was afraid to speak up or try new things. She was the most outspoken, independent girl Roxy had ever met, and now she was going off to be a healer. Molly had changed. Not only had Molly become Roxy's best friend this year, she had grown out of her snobbish, bratty ways. She was actually really funny and easy going and even though she could talk your ear off, she would take a secret with her to her grave. Al had changed as well. He was still kind and observant, but lately he had turned into less of a watcher and more of a doer. He was a force to be reckoned with on the Quidditch pitch and fought hard for the people he cared about. She'd seen him defend his friend Scorpius from kids twice his size, and had no tolerance for people that spoke ill of his family.

Most recently added to the list of changed was Dom. Roxy had to do a double take earlier because she thought it was a version of Victoire from the past coming down the stairs, not Dominique. She had been eerily well-behaved during the ceremony and even reprimanded James when he tried to use a confetti wheeze in the middle of Vic's speech. Lex had definitely changed over the year. He was still a huge pain in the ass, but he was always sweet to her, her family loved him, and he was very persistent in his attempts to ask her out. They talked often and she would consider him one of her really good friends. She chanced a look in his direction and could barely contain her laugh when she saw him sleeping with his mouth open on the row with the other prefects. She pulled out the coin he had gotten her for Christmas and thought of what she wanted to say.

'**Bored?' **she asked. Laughing when he jumped up to the heat of the coin

'**Is it that obvious?'**

'**You're drooling'**

'**Am not… You look beautiful today." **She looked up at him and he was looking at her with a genuine smile, that he didn't use very often. Since the start of the year she had been called hot, sexy, pretty, and fit, but she'd never been called beautiful by anyone other than Goyle-and that didn't really count.

'**You look pretty handsome yourself."**

'**Was that a compliment?'**

'**Yes**. **Don't make me take it back'**

'**Yes ma'am' **Roxy laughed and turned her attention back to what Victoire was saying. She had just taken a long pause and it looked like she was debating whether or not to continue. It was like she was having some kind of revelation, and the look in her eye turned fierce before she continued.

"_It is so easy to waste our lives: our days, our hours, and our minutes. It is so easy to sit back and exist instead of live. Challenge yourself, take a different route home and get lost, sit with someone you've never talked to before and see how many things you have in common. Pay attention to what's going on around you and don't just let the time pass. Never take no for an answer and don't settle for anything less than you deserve. Now is the time for all of us to do the things we thought we'd never get a chance to do and be all the things that everyone said we could never be. Do the things you want to do because they make you happy. Laugh as hard as you breathe, because it makes you smile. Love as long as you live, because without love we have nothing. Be with the people that make you feel good about yourself because you never know what tomorrow will bring."_

Victoire had gone completely off her notecards and almost everyone in the audience was sniffling or wiping their eyes. She wasn't exactly sure what had gotten into Vic, but she had a good feeling that it had something to do with the man sitting at the front of the room, who was visibly fighting to keep his hair from turning colors during her speech. If Teddy and Vic thought they were fooling anyone, maybe they weren't as brilliant as people thought.

'**Roxy'**

'**Lex'**

'**I was just thinking, I haven't asked you out in a while'**

'**I guess you haven't. Why is that?'**

'**Well, after the 6****th**** rejection I started to sense a pattern'**

'**A pattern, eh? Well, 6 was never really my number' **

'**How do you feel about the number 7?'**

'**Try me'**

'**Roxanne Aurora Weasley, will you go out with me?'**

'**Give me one good reason' **she said with a smirk, repeating the words she'd said to him when he asked the very first time after the Valentine's Day Ball last year. So much had changed between them, but she wouldn't be Roxy if she didn't make him sweat a little bit. She knew she couldn't keep up the love-hate thing for long though. Those lines started blurring as soon as he opened up to her at The Burrow.

'**Because you never know what tomorrow might bring' **Roxy couldn't deny that she was attracted to Lex, and he clearly made her happy. Whatever reputation he had in the past had had no effect on his actions towards her. With her he was the perfect gentleman that he didn't want the rest of the world to see. He was funny and kind and frustratingly smart. He was great; they were going to be great together. Plus, she'd seen enough muggle movies to know that they would probably end up together in the end.

'**Yes.'  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong> <em>Rose<em>**

The entire time Vic spoke, Rose sat in silence in complete awe of the words her cousin was saying. She, along with Roxy, had heard the speech Victoire wrote about 100 times, but the things she was saying now, wherever they were coming from, were more inspiring than anything she could have planned.

"_So to the class of 2018, I leave you with this simple request: Cherish every moment that you have and treat each day like it's your last. Keep in touch with your housemates and Hogwarts friends, but don't be afraid to meet new people and explore new things. I know the potential that each and every one of you has, and I look forward to seeing what you all have to offer to the "real world". We may be growing up, but we must continue to dream the wild dreams we dreamed when we were young. Don't lose sight of your goals and when you reach them, don't be afraid to set another._

_And to the younger students of Hogwarts that we are leaving behind, and those coming to Hogwarts in the future, we officially pass the torch to you. You all are the future of Hogwarts, and I expect you all to do even better than the people that came before you. Take this time to dream as many dreams as you want. Dream, and dream big; but make a daily commitment to take whatever actions necessary to make your dreams into a reality. I truly hope that our dreams take us to the highest of our hopes, to the windows of many opportunities, and to the most special places our hearts have ever known. Thank you"_

At the end of the speech, Rose jumped to her feet like everyone else in the Great Hall and gave Vic a well-deserved round of applause. Of course the rest of her family was just trying to yell louder than everyone else at the ceremony, but she was truly appreciative for the insights her cousin had given. Vic was right (of course). If Rose worked hard enough, she could be whatever she wanted. There was truly no limit to what she could do or be. She wasn't sure if she could become Head Girl, or make the Quidditch team, or start her own club or team at the school, but she was sure as hell going to find out. She was only 12; there wasn't anything that she was completely incapable of doing. Rose knew she was probably reading too much into the speech, and Vicky hadn't honestly been talking to her, but she was going to take every word she heard today to heart.

"Uh oh." Al said, interrupting her thoughts, "I can already see you planning. The gears turning in your head are louder than everyone in the Hall put together."

"Don't tease Al. You know the things she said were making you think about the future and what not."

"I guess, but we're young! Why think about the future now?"

"Didn't you listen to a_ word _Vic said? We should think about it _because_ we're young. Come on, let's find Scor; he'll know what I mean."

She and Albus made their way back to the common room to find Scor before they had to be back and take pictures with the family. She wasn't going to waste any more days or take anything for granted. She was going to live life to the fullest, and she was going to do it with her best friends.

* * *

><p><strong><em> James<em>**

After the ceremony, James stood in the gardens with his family as a photographer took a picture of the family. He knew the whole group rarely went out together, but he didn't see why all of them had to be in a picture for Vic's graduation. James had only been to one graduation before, and he'd expected this one to be just as boring as the last, but some of the things Vic was saying really got to him. He had to make things right with Linden because he didn't want to lose her as a friend. When the photographer finished James quickly found Carter, who was with his sister and family.

"Congratulations Lexie." He said to the girl, who was a crying mess. He didn't understand why people were crying, if he was done with school he would be running through this place doing back flips and singing. "Carter, did you bring what I asked for?"

"Yeah mate, Hollis brought Linden down to the Great Hall, but you better talk fast when you see her. It's the last day she'll get to use magic and I wouldn't put it past her to hex you."

"Right, thanks." He made the short trip to the Great Hall praying to the heavens that she would stay when she saw him and hear him out when he tried to apologize. He caught up to Hollis who was shaking her head at him and glaring, and tapped Linden on the shoulder to get her attention. She turned around with a look of excitement that quickly turned sad when she realized it was James.

"What the hell? Hollis, is this what you dragged me down here for?"

"Yes. And I'm not forgiving him for what he said to you, but you should at least listen to what he has to say." She said. Thankfully Hollis was helping out, even though he knew she didn't want to.

"What is it Potter?" she asked sadly.

"I just wanted to apologize for, you know, all the things I said to you. I didn't mean any of it-"

"Then why did you say it?"

"I was shocked! I mean, you were sneaking off in the middle of the night and we were worried about you, well I was worried about you, and we followed you to that room. Then when I heard you talking to your mum about your father- I just freaked out!"

"And because you know who my father is now, you think I'm a Death Eater that doesn't fit into perfect little James Potter's lifestyle!"

"What would you have done if you were me?" he asked, not understanding why they couldn't get through one conversation without screaming at each other," Why would you have been sneaking off to that creepy room if it was just a regular old chat with your mummy?"

"Why didn't you just ask me then, instead of calling me names and making assumptions?"

"It looked suspicious! If you just wanted to talk to your mum why not owl her-"

"Because I can't! My father disowned me once he found out I got into Gryffindor. It was even worse because he found out I asked to be placed there. "

"What? Why would your father be upset about that?"

"He and my Uncle Lucius are two out of a handful of people that are stuck in the past. In their eyes we've disgraced the family names. In reality, they are the disgraces, but why don't you try to tell them that."

"How can you be so calm about this? You're family- it isn't right! How could they just leave you on your own? Isn't your mother going to try to do something?"

"I can be calm because I know that what they do or believe has no influence on my life. And my mother is doing something; she's protecting herself. If she were to openly talk to me who knows what my father would do. McGonagall set up that room for us so that we could talk to them without anyone being able to trace the location."

"Linden, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Because you didn't ask. You just jumped to conclusions and that's why I go by my middle name-Love; so I don't have to deal with the prejudice of people like you."

"Me, prejudiced? My family fought on the good side of the war!"

"And my family was bound to the bad, yet you're the one jumping to conclusions and calling me a Death Eater! If you're not prejudiced and you're so good and I'm so bad, why does my father's last name bother you?"

"It doesn't!"

"Yes it does!" he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the crowd of families. "What are you doing? James let me go!"

"I'm going to prove to you that last names don't matter to me. Mum, Dad?"

His parents turned around quickly, ending their conversation with his Grandmother. "Yes honey?"

"I'd like you to meet my friend, Linden Greengrass. Linden, this is my mum and dad."

* * *

><p><em><strong> Victoire<strong>_

Victoire had been crying a lot lately. She cried before and after her NEWT's, whenever she thought of her and Teddy's (non-existant) relationship, and when she did her last patrol of the halls. If she hadn't put her eyes through enough, Victoire had been crying more today than she ever had in her entire life. She cried when she woke up, when she put on her graduation gown, when she walked out of the common room, when she got to the Great Hall, when she saw her mum crying, when she saw Louis comforting her mum, when she finished her speech, and when her family took a picture for the prophet. Her mum had been an emotional mess, and even her dad had choked up a bit during her speech.

She refused to cry anymore, and being around her family wasn't the best way to do that. She wandered through the crowds of families gathered in the grounds. Some laughing, some crying, some taking pictures. It was all so sweet, and then she realized that this was it. She had really just graduated and so had the other 30 students in her year that she had spent 7 years getting to know, loving, hating, playing Quidditch with. They were all going off to do big things in the world. She was finally an adult and could do whatever she wanted, but for some reason all she wanted to do was stay at Hogwarts and hold on to her childhood. Maybe she wasn't ready to grow up and move on. Just as she was thinking of not growing up, the girl that she had spent endless hours complaining to about getting out of Hogwarts as soon as possible.

"Vicky!"

"Lexie! I can't believe we've graduated!"

"Neither can I. Your speech was amazing, you had my father in tears!" she squealed.

"Maybe one tear." Dean joked as he gave Vic a hug. "You really were brilliant."

"Thanks Mr. Thomas. But I hope you don't think that just because I've graduated I won't still be spending endless amounts of time at your house."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." He responded. Vic was about to go reunite with the Weasley clan when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

"Would you like to take a walk with me?" Teddy asked.

"Of course." She answered. She took his hand and they walked in silence for what seemed like hours. There were so many things she wanted to say, but no words could come out. This was the moment she'd been waiting on since her 5th year, and now that it had come, she had no idea what to do with it. They still had not exchanged any words when he stopped at a shaded area and pulled her onto the grass with him.

"Congratulations Tori. You were amazing today."

"Thanks. I was so nervous; I thought I was going to pass out. But once I saw the whole family there it was like I was instantly calmed. I always thought they needed me; I never noticed how much I need them. It's crazy thinking about how things are going to change; not seeing them every day." She rambled as she shed the millionth tear for the day. He wiped away her tear with his thumb and smiled.

"You'll be fine. I know you will." Vic reached up to move a piece of hair from his face, and gasped slightly when his hair turned that shade of blue that she loved. "I've missed you so much-"

That was all he was able to get out, because she had literally attacked him with kisses. She had missed him more than anything, and couldn't imagine another moment without him by her side. She pulled away from him and looked into his eyes as she spoke.

"Marry me."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Teddy<strong>_

Either Teddy had gone crazy, or Victoire Weasley had just asked him to marry her.

"What? Did you just ask me to marry you?" he asked surprised.

"Yes I did. I've waited 18 years for you and I'm absolutely done waiting. Either we're together forever starting right now, or its over and we can just be friends."

"You're serious."

"Absolutely." She said with the same confident and passion that she had exuded during her Head Girl speech.

"You're amazing, you know that? You're amazing and smart, funny, even though you don't know it, caring, strong, sweet, intuitive, and brave." He said before pulling a box out of his jacket and getting down on one knee. "You're also impulsive and quick tempered and frustrating and impatient and if you had waited 30 seconds-" he said as he opened the box, revealing an engagement ring with a smirk.

"Oh my goodness Teddy; is that-"

"Victoire Weasley, I have spent 21 years loving you and for reasons I've yet to figure out, you've loved me back. I don't how I made it without you in my life, but I plan to spend the rest of them by your side. I'm so sorry for making you wait, but you'll never have to wait again. Will you marry me?"

"Yes! Of course, I'll marry you." She answered. He could have died a happy man right then and there. She was going to be his wife. He picked her up effortlessly and swung her around in the air, not sure of anything other than the He was ready to start a life with her.

"We're getting married!" he said with a goofy grin.

"We're getting married! I can't wait!" she gushed as she held her hand out to examine the ring

"You don't have to." He blurted out before his brain told him to stop

"I don't have to what?"

"Wait. I promised I'll never make you wait again and I don't want to wait either. I want to marry you now."

"Right now? Like today?"

"Yes. If you want to, we can apparate to Las Vegas right this second. I mean, we could go to the Ministry, but too many people know us there. If we went to America we'd have no problems."

"Teddy Remus Lupin, you are absolutely insane." She said as she shook her head and walked towards the castle.

"Wait, where are you going?" he asked, hoping he hadn't scared her with his request.

"Well, I'm going to meet my fiancée in Las Vegas to get married. Since I can't apparate here, I'm taking the floo in the new Defense against the Dark Arts professor's office. Are you coming?" Teddy couldn't help but laugh and he kissed one more time. They held hands as they ran through the grounds, ignoring any and every person that they passed.

"Vic! Teddy!" they heard a familiar voice call. Teddy turned his head to see ten Weasley brats running behind them.

"For the love of Merlin. " Vic complained, "Where did they come from?" Honestly he could care less if they saw them going. At this moment nothing else in the world mattered; he and Victoire were going to be together forever.

"Hey!" Dominique called, "Wait!"

"Where in the bloody hell are you idiots going?"

"Geez Molly, watch your language!"

"Guys, wait up! You're going too fast!" Lucy said as she panted.

"We told you and Lily to stay." James whined.

"I can do whatever I want." Lily snapped. "Teddy; wait up!"

The big brother in him felt a little bad as his little sister called out for him, but he couldn't stop for her right now. He wanted to do this and he was sad he couldn't do it with his family; but Victoire was his family now. She wanted to do this just as much as he did and he owed it to her to give her everything she wanted and more. He looked at the love of his life and she gave him a reassuring nod. They rounded the last corner before his office and ran through the door as quickly as they could. Their hands were still connected as they stepped into the floo and he grabbed some of the floo powder. Just as he was about to speak, the cousins came running through the door one by one with identical looks of confusion.

"Are you guys mental?" Molly asked. "Where in the world are you going?"

"To our destiny." Vic answered.

"What?" they all asked in unison.

"We're getting married." He answered confidently before throwing the floo powder towards their feet. "Las Vegas."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: What's that I smell? A...cliffhanger?** **YES! There will be a Sequel starting Monday April 9th. For those of you that can't wait that long, there will be a preview of the next story, _For What It's Worth,_ coming** soon**! Thanks again for all of the support and love! This story probably would have never been finished without it!**

**-Jazz**


	37. For What It's Worth

**Hello everyone!**

**Hope you've had a good spring semester so far! I still have a 4.0 which is shocking (I'm taking Econ AND Accounting) so I hope you all are doing well too!**

**On to the important stuff...**

**I know I was supposed to be starting _For What It's Worth_ April 9th, BUT I am going on Spring Break tomorrow and have strict instructions from my fruends to leave my laptop at home :-( I agreed, but I couldn't just fall through on my promise, so I will be posting chapter 1...TODAY! Actually, if you go to my page it should be there waiting for you now :-)**

**So glad you guys enjoyed this story and I hope the sequel lives up to your expectations!**

**...Well what are you still reading this for? Go ahead...the sequel is up!**

**-Jazz**


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